


The Journey of Two Flames

by RavenStrider



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Action/Adventure, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-18 07:01:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 25
Words: 147,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28614024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RavenStrider/pseuds/RavenStrider
Summary: Natsu was raised by Igneel, the White Fire Dragon King, and Draco, who is Igneel's brother. Unfortunately, great power is often accompanied by great tragedy, and Natsu is no different. Will the tragedies of his past prevent him from moving forward, or will a special few pierce his heart to let him move on? Follow Natsu's journey through Fairy Tail, fighting through challenges to protect his guild while a war as old as earthland threatens to start. Rated M for language, violence, and minor sexual references
Relationships: Natsu Dragneel/Erza Scarlet, Natsu Dragneel/Erza Scarlet/Mirajane Strauss, Natsu Dragneel/Mirajane Strauss
Kudos: 10





	1. The First

[Small Unknown Village in Ishgar - X766]

“WAAAAAAHH! AHHHHHH!”  
“Calm yourself, young one. I mean you no harm…”  
‘That Acnologia… he gets worse every passing year…’ he thought.  
“I’m sorry young one, but it seems you have nothing left here. Come, I shall take you with me back to my brother…”

[Unknown Location in a Mountain Range of Ishgar]

“Brother! I have returned!”  
“Finally, took you long enough.” he sighed. “I take it you didn’t make it in time, considering you are still in one piece?”  
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you doubt my fighting power. I may not be as good as you, my liege, however, I am more than capable in a fight against such scum.”  
“Kch…. Don’t start with titles now, brother. I’ve finally stopped trying to get you to admit my rank. And must I remind you again, that Acnologia may be the strongest dragon alive? I’m not sure even I would have a chance against him alone”  
“As much as I love having such discussions, I do have a request for you, brother Igneel.”  
“I take it has something to do with this small human-smelling contraption you have brought here? Tell me, brother Draco, why have you brought this child with you?”  
“The village was entirely destroyed. The entire place was a pile of rubble, aside from this small basket containing a young, crying child. I believe he is of some importance, seeing as he was completely unharmed.”  
“I see your point, brother Draco. So, you wish to raise him as your own? I see no problem with this, however, other than informing me I do not understand where I come in.”  
“You are half right, brother Igneel. However, there is more. I believe this child may be the only one capable of killing that menace.”  
“This wisdom is most unlike you, brother Draco. Tell me, how could you possibly predict the future of someone so young? From the looks of it, this child must have been born within a few weeks of this point!”  
“Brother Igneel, I wish to create this child into a dual dragon slayer, half royal white flames and half fire dragon flames.”  
“...”  
“...”  
“...”  
“ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR SCALY REPTILIAN MIND??!?!” Igneel roared. “A DUAL DRAGON SLAYER HAS NEVER BEEN ATTEMPTED, NOR HAS A MERE HUMAN BEEN GRACED WITH ROYAL DRAGON SLAYER MAGIC, LET ALONE ONE AS POWERFUL AS THE ROYAL WHITE FLAMES!!!”  
“I understand, brother Igneel, however, I do believe this is the right thing to do. I believe you already know my point is valid, and should this attempt be successful, we may finally be rid of that black dragon menace.”  
Igneel sighed, and pondered the suggestion for a few moments.  
“I do understand, brother Draco. However, such a thing has never been attempted! How do we know the Dragon Soul Ritual will even work? It’s dangerous enough if done incorrectly, and this is with two dragons at the same time! Not to mention the strength we are trusting this human child with should it work and… well… mating…” he ended quietly.  
“You worry far too much, brother Igneel. I believe that we can perform the ritual at the same time, on either side of the child. Besides, should it fail, this child has no attachments to this world anyway, so while I would be disappointed, it would simply be a failed test. And while you make a valid concern about mating, seeing as humans generally follow the one mate practice of normal dragons, I do not believe the mating instincts of a royal dragon will bring excessive harm to the child. I trust he will cross that bridge when he comes to it.”  
“You are quite an idiot, brother Draco, and your sense of humor has not lost its morbidity.” He sighed, and scratched the top of his head with a claw. “Very well. Bring the child and we shall begin the Dragon Soul Ritual. Although I have one requirement! He will stay with one of us at a time. I shall teach him human and dragon customs, you shall teach him basic dragon slayer magic, and then he shall return to me to learn to wield the royal white flames. In exchange, I offer you the right to name the child.”  
“Bold as ever, brother Igneel. Very well, I agree to your terms. As for a name, you know me far too well. Natsu. Natsu Drakeneel.”  
“Your lack of creativity is astonishing, brother Draco. Very well, let us begin.”

[5 Years Later]

“You mean it? I finally get to meet Draco?” Natsu exclaimed.  
“Yes, my son. As I have told you every day for the past week. Draco is coming-”  
“And I’ll get to learn magic right? Wait, if I call you dad, what should I call him? Father? No, that doesn’t sound right. Maybe pops? Nah, that isn’t it. Didn’t you say he saved me from my village? I’m still upset about that, but I’m glad that he-”  
“SILENCE! ENOUGH OF YOUR BLATHERING!” Igneel roared.  
“...sorry.”  
Igneel sighed. “Yes, my brother Draco is coming sometime soon to begin teaching you dragon slayer magic. You will stay with him until you are ready to return to me. As for what you call him, I frankly don’t care. That is up to you. The story of your village is a sad one, but try not to think about it too much. Remember what I told you?”  
“Of course! While you can’t change the past, you can live on for others who couldn’t make it with you to the future.”  
“Well said, my son. While your birth parents may not be with you, I’m sure they would be very proud of who you’ve become.”  
“Thanks dad,” said Natsu, giving a wide toothy grin at the dragon.  
Igneel was a large, powerful dragon. His wingspan was around 40 feet, and he looked to be at least 100 feet in length from the nose to the tip of his tail. He had brilliant white scales adorning his body, with large wings on opposing sides. The dragon had two horns atop his mighty head, a near permanent smile on his face after living with Natsu for 5 long years, and a large scar over his right eye.  
(sniff… sniff sniff…) “Well, my child, looks like you will get to meet him sooner than I initially thought.”  
Following this, another dragon landed at the entrance of the cave. The pressure from his landing was immense, and Natsu nearly fell over from the wind. While smaller, this dragon looked nearly identical to his brother, except for the fact that he had red scales with a yellowish underbelly, and a smaller scar over his left eye. Strangely enough, other than size, the scars were the same. Straight cuts down the face from what looked to be a dragon’s claw.  
“THAT’S DRACO! HE LOOKS LIKE SOMEONE PAINTED YOU RED!” Natsu exclaimed.  
Igneel simply sighed, and looked over at his brother who was entering the cave.  
“Welcome back, brother Draco. It has been a long five years with this one. He’s quite the trouble maker.”  
“I AM NOT!” Natsu yelled with a pout.  
Both dragons chuckled slightly at his antics, but resumed their conversation.  
“So I take it the boy is well versed in language and culture, brother Igneel. He has grown well, although I find his hair rather peculiar. In all my travels I have not seen a human with hair such as his.”  
Natsu was a small child, with green eyes and large fangs. He wore a simple fur that covered his crotch and backside and no shirt. The strangest thing, however, was his hair. On the right side, his hair was a shimmering white color but on the left it was a light pink color, though Natsu insisted it was salmon. Despite his size, he was relatively muscular for his age. Igneel insisted that he needed to be in perfect shape for his magic training, even though he had not undergone any as of yet.  
“HEY! THERE’S NOTHING WRONG WITH MY HAIR YOU FAT LIZARD!” Natsu shouted.  
“Silence child, no one said there was anything wrong with that pink hair of yours. It’s just unusual.” Igneel replied  
“IT’S SALMON, YOU WIMPY WYVERN!” Natsu retorted  
“Well, brother Igneel. He certainly has quite a sharp tongue. I like it. Come here young one, I take it that you are well informed of who I am?” He eyed Igneel with a questioning, expectant look to which Igneel nodded.  
“Of course! Dad said you were his brother Draco and you saved me from my village that was destroyed. Thanks! Also, he said that you were going to teach me magic, but for some reason you both had to be separated when I was being taught stuff. I still don’t get that, but whatever. Not like I want to see that stuck up lizard again anyway.” Natsu crossed his arms and pouted.  
“Silence brat! It is for your own good!” Igneel roared  
Draco just chuckled, and turned back to his brother.  
“Well I should get going. He hasn’t been sighted since the last attack, though I’m not sure why. I expect to be back within 3 years.”  
“3 years? That’s way too long! I’ll do it in one! No, make that 6 months!” Natsu shouted, pounding his fist into his palm.  
Igneel shook his head. “Child, dragon slayer magic is unbelievably hard to master. Most humans can’t even learn it, though both my brother and I have full faith in you. However, if you are so insistent, I shall make you a deal. If you can pass my brother’s expectations in 2 years, I shall hunt the biggest Salamander I can find for your return. How does that sound?”  
“REALLY? YOU MEAN IT? YOU’RE THE BEST!! I’M ALL FIRED UP NOW!” Natsu shouted, running to Draco in excitement. “Well, let’s get a move on! I gotta get started, and dad has to start tracking me some dinner!”  
Draco started laughing and turned back to the child. “Very well, young one. I am interested to see what you have become as well as your potential. Climb on and we’ll head off. I warn you, it will be very difficult and I do NOT intend to be as soft as my brother here!”  
“WHO’S SOFT, KINDLING FOR BRAINS?” Igneel roared  
Draco just chuckled and allowed Natsu to climb on.  
“Bye dad! I’ll see you in two years! You better have some salamander for me when I come back! If it’s any less than 30 feet, I’ll kick your scaly butt with my dragon magic!”  
“You’re a hundred years too early to put a burn on my scales, you insolent brat! (...sigh) I’ll see you then, my son. Good luck with my brother, and don’t forget what I taught you just because you’re learning something new, got that Natsu?”  
“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Let’s get a move on, flame face.”  
“This is going to be a long few years, I can already tell. (...sigh) Goodbye then brother Igneel, I shall tell you of my return when he is ready.”  
“Very well then brother Draco, good luck.”  
The two then took off, Natsu clinging tightly to Draco’s horns, laughing ecstatically. Igneel watched them with a sad smile on his face  
“Such a strange child.... Though I will miss him… I can’t believe I promised that brat a salamander, does he know how hard they are to find???”

[2 Years Later]

(BOOOM)  
“I did it! I did it!” Natsu cheered, dancing around like a loon.  
“That you did, my child. Well done, I must say.”  
“Does that mean we can go back to Igneel and I can learn the royal white flames? They sound so cool! He promised me a Salamander too! I swear if that lizard doesn’t have dinner for me…”  
Draco just laughed and shook his head. In truth, he was quite impressed with Natsu’s growth over the years. In most cases, it takes 5 years to master dragon slaying magic. Two years would only be enough to understand and cast the simple spells with relative consistency, let alone using the necessary power that would develop over the next two, and the advanced secret dragon arts that would take the last year. His 3 year estimate was his understanding that the son of the White Fire Dragon King Igneel and himself would be advanced, but this was almost unbelievable. Fortunately, he learned to not be quite as surprised as when he mastered the first spell in a month, and when he grasped almost all the secret arts instantly. If not for the simple fact that a magic container takes time to build, Natsu probably would have finished far earlier.  
“Child, when you’re done grumbling I do have news for you.”  
This peaked his attention, as normally news meant a new spell, something delicious to eat, or meeting another dragon briefly before being sent away while they talked about ‘grown up dragon stuff’. Honestly, he didn’t care. He just wanted to impress Draco and Igneel.  
“I have to make a quick stop to see an old friend of mine, so I’d like you to go attempt to socialize with some other humans. There’s a village not too far from here, I’ll drop you nearby and meet you 3 days after that. When I come pick you up, we’ll head back to Igneel.”  
“Really?? Awesome! I can see Igneel again! Wait, but why do I have to see other humans? I don’t like them, they’re weird and always laugh at my hair. No one believes me when I talk about you guys either, which is just rude. Can I set a few on fire if they’re mean again? Please? I won’t hurt them too bad, I promise.”  
“I already told you, dragon slayer magic is not meant to be used by a reckless child looking to play pranks. If people don’t believe you, that’s ok. Let them laugh. Now let’s go, or did you not want to learn to wield the royal white dragon flames?”  
“Alright fine, let’s go.” Natsu grumbled, but hopped on Draco.  
Draco took off towards the village, Natsu mumbling to himself all the way. They landed about a mile away before Draco took his leave, promising to return in 3 days time, insisting that Natsu be present when he returned. When Draco left, Natsu walked through the forest towards the village. By this point, Natsu had upgraded his wardrobe at Draco’s insistence, changing from what was essentially a loincloth, to white knee-length pants and an open vest. He didn’t particularly care what he wore, but Draco insisted that to fit in he needed to wear ‘human clothes,’ whatever that meant.  
It was a fairly small village in terms of living space, but it seemed to be quite the traveler’s trap. The streets were lined with vendors trying to sell anything and everything to people, from food, to magic items and tools, all the way to toys and trinkets for children or collectors. Natsu knew that he was supposed to try to socialize a little bit, and Draco gave him a pouch with enough jewels to buy a few things, but not enough to live there for 3 days. He was old enough to figure out how to deal with it on his own, as Draco put it, and that dragons have a hard time getting jewels in the first place so he should stop being an ungrateful brat. As annoying as he was, Natsu loved Draco dearly, and vice versa.  
While walking, he noticed a young woman who was walking alone seemingly trying to avoid everyone. She looked to be in her late teens, had long brown hair, and wore a simple black knee-length dress that exposed her shoulders and collarbone. The woman carried a white handbag and was seemingly in a hurry. Natsu found this a bit strange that she was in such a rush, and decided to listen to his instincts that something must be wrong. After turning into the alley after her, he found what appeared to be 3 brutish looking men surrounding her. Each of them exuded danger, and smelled of filth and blood. One had a knife and the other two just stood there ready to beat something up.  
“Please, let me go! I have a sister to look after, I need the money for her!”  
“I don’t remember asking why you should have the money, I remember asking you to hand it to me. Or do I have to get a little rough with ya?” The man with the knife asked her. He seemed to be in charge of the group of thugs, and the other two just snickered as they watched him.  
“No, I need this! I can hardly feed myself, let alone me and my sister!”  
“Shut your trap you broad, you’ve got about 3 seconds to hand it over before I have to resort to more, interesting methods. Mmmmm maybe you would be willing to provide some extra… services… in addition to the money you’ve got there. Whaddya say boys?”  
The man just laughed and took a step closer to the woman, who was already crying.  
“FIRE DRAGON’S IRON FIST!” as the leader was punched clean through the building.  
“What the fuck was that?!? BOSS??”  
“Someone just took down the boss in one shot! What the hell??”  
“Leave her alone, you fleshy freaks. You can either leave now, or I can burn all the stuck-up right off your ugly mugs!”  
“It’s just a kid! What the hell???”  
“Get him!”  
The two men charged Natsu, both pulling out knives of their own.  
“Honestly, this is why I hate humans so much. You never learn…”  
He ran up to them, dodging their knives and got behind them, grabbing them by the back of their shirts.  
“FIRE DRAGON’S GRIP STRIKE!” He shouted, unleashing a powerful blast of flames point-blank into the two men. Both were shot across the town, and landed in a smoldering heap. Their clothes were nearly completely burned off, and their backs were covered in blisters and burns. Natsu turned back to the woman and ran over to her.  
“Are you ok? Sorry it took so long, I just wanted to make sure that they were actually bad guys before I burned them to a crisp. What’s your name?”  
“I don’t have any money! Please, don’t hurt me!!!” she whimpered as she cowered sitting against the wall, covering her head with her hands. Natsu walked over and kneeled in front of her, giving her a big toothy grin.  
“Hey! I’m not gonna hurt you, I just wanna know your name! My name’s Natsu, Natsu Drakeneel!”  
“Y-yo-you’re not?” she whimpered trying to stop crying.  
“Of course not! You said you needed money for your sister, right? Besides, why would I just hurt someone for no reason? That doesn’t make any sense.”  
The woman smiled slightly, and looked back at him, his face still placating that same toothy grin. “M-my name’s Ashley… Ashley Ward… T-thank you… (sniff) for saving me…”  
“Hey, no problem! I’m supposed to socialize with people anyways, so maybe I can socialize with you!”  
“U-uh… (sniff) ok…”  
“Great! Did you say you were going to see your sister?”  
She smiled slightly and nodded. “Great! I’m starving, let’s go get lunch and then see her! I’ll buy something for her too.” Natsu said, standing up and reaching his hand out to help her up.  
“R-really?” she looked surprised  
“Of course! Just think of it as a favor from a friend…”  
“A friend….” she whispered, and tentatively took his hand.

[2 Days Later]

“Do you really have to leave? You’re more than welcome to stay. I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done.” Ashley said, as he began to exit the home.  
“Don’t worry about it! I didn’t need the jewel anyways, I’ve hunted for my own food and slept outside my whole life! Besides, Draco should come along tomorrow anyways, and I have to meet up with him.”  
“If you’re sure… I’d love to meet Draco some time, and Igneel too. Make sure you come visit me again!”  
“Of course! We’ll see each other again someday, I promise. Stay safe, and good luck to both of you!”  
“Bye Natsu!” she shouted as he walked off, waving behind his head. “...thank you…”

[2 Days Later - Igneel’s Cave]

“IGNEEL!! IGNEEL!! WE’RE BACK!” Natsu shouted, running towards the white dragon.  
“Ah, my son has returned! It has been far too long, Natsu. I take it you’ve mastered fire dragon slayer magic, no?”  
“You bet your scaly butt I did! And you owe me some salamander, dad!”  
Igneel laughed and dragged a humongous salamander out from behind him. It looked to be about 40 feet in length, and looked to weigh at least a ton.  
“As promised! A salamander no less than 30 feet! I’m not cooking it though, that’s your problem!”  
“Wow! This is the biggest one I’ve ever seen! You’re the best!” Natsu exclaimed, and immediately started to get the beast ready to eat.  
“Well, brother Draco, it appears you’ve done well. I must say, I am interested to see his potential. 2 years is rather short, though I did raise him so I can’t say I’m all that surprised. Is he truly ready to use the white flames? I’m still uneasy about all this you know.”  
“I wouldn’t have brought him back so early if he wasn’t, brother Igneel. Just be patient, I assure you he will exceed your wildest expectations. I will say though, you may have to focus on making his magic container much larger. He was so quick to learn that his magic container is smaller than most of his skill level.”  
“Of course. I have a plan to take care of that, and a plan to make sure he has more than enough magic in order to take him down. In the meantime, come! Let’s not let the boy have the entire salamander! It wasn’t an easy find you know, it took me nearly a week!”  
“Hahaha! You never have been the best at hunting, have you brother Igneel? I could’ve found one twice as big in half the time!”  
“Should this child acquire your overconfident nature, I don’t know how I’ll deal with him these next few years… (...sigh)” Igneel said, shaking his head  
“Come on you overgrown geckos! Foods ready! Salamander has to be the most delicious thing ever!” he yelled, drooling over the pieces of meat.  
Both dragons looked at each other and laughed before heading over towards their meal. While they ate, the three discussed how Natsu had done with his magic, and Igneel made sure he remembered many of the customs and things to remember that he had taught him years prior. Natsu told them the story of the lady at the village, to which they both were exceedingly proud of him for ‘using his magic properly for once,’ as Draco put it. All in all, they enjoyed their time together, enjoying themselves as a big family. It really had been far too long…

[3 Years Later - Eastern Ishgar]

“Natsu! Run! I can’t hold him off much longer!” Igneel shouted  
“DAD!!! NO! I ALREADY LOST DRACO AND MY VILLAGE! I CAN’T LOSE YOU TOO! PLEASE!” Natsu screamed tears and blood pouring down his face.  
“YOU MUST MY SON! Remember what I told you long ago… You are unable to change the past, but you can live on for others who are unable to make it to the future.”  
“DAD!!! NO! DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!!!” Natsu screamed as the two dragons charged each other. 

[Earlier that day]

The whole dragon family had been out that day, continuing with Natsu’s combat and sensory training. By now he was quite proficient in the Royal White Flames, but he still lacked the power and experience of a dominant mage. The first year was spent teaching Natsu the spells, who, as Draco had said, picked them up incredibly quickly. The next two years were spent growing Natsu’s primary and secondary magic containers. Igneel insisted that he need ‘an immense emergency reserve of magical power’ for his ‘ultimate purpose.’ Both refused to tell him what that was, so after a few months of them dodging the question, he decided that they would tell him when he was ready. By now, Natsu had matured significantly. His mastery of the flames came with a mastery of language, and both Draco and Igneel could tell that he was a true genius in everything from combat to writing. While rarely able to actually do it, Natu enjoyed reading. The few books his dragon fathers were able to bring him he adored, and read insistently. He always told them that one day he would write a book about the two of them as well as dragons and dragon slayers specifically. Of course, they both loved the idea of them receiving fame, so the frequent trips Draco took away from the cave, he always tried to return with something of literary merit.  
That evening after training, they were about to head back to the cave when he arrived. As black as pitch, and somehow just as big if not even bigger than Igneel, he let out a mighty roar. He had a near white underbelly with light blue streaks and swirls on his wings. As shocking as that was, it was even more terrifying when behind him came a second dragon. He was also black, slightly larger than Draco but smaller than Igneel or Acnologia, and lacked the blue patterns on his wings.  
ROOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGHHHHH  
“It’s him! BROTHER! PROTECT NATSU!” Igneel shouted as he rose into the air  
“Who are they?? What are they doing here?” Natsu asked, with a terrified look on his face at the mighty White Dragon King engaging two black dragons.  
It appeared as if hell itself had come, the black dragons blasting magic only for it to be met in power by Igneel’s white flames. The whole area was destroyed almost instantly, and if not for Draco, Natsu would have been wounded too.  
“It’s Acnologia…” Draco growled, watching intently the battle above while at the same time ensuring the safety of Natsu.  
“Who’s the other one? And why are they attacking Igneel?” Natsu asked hiding behind Draco’s leg and holding on for dear life against the winds that ripped apart the land.  
“His brother Archon I believe… I had no idea he was still alive. It was my understanding that he had died years ago, but that must have been some other dragon..”  
“IGNEEL!!! YOU HAVE HELD THE TITLE OF KING FOR FAR TOO LONG! THE DRAGONS ARE ALL BUT EXTINCT FROM MY POWER! YOU ARE THE LAST ONE STANDING IN THE WAY OF MY ULTIMATE UNDISPUTED RULE! BOW TO YOUR KING AND DIE!” Acnologia screamed, charging a beam of blue magic.  
“It is high time you learned your place, Acnologia…” Igneel responded.  
The two magics clashed, but with the addition of Archon, Igneel was being pushed back. He dodged just before the shot collided with him, and the shot sailed past his right side, completely destroying the mountain range behind them.  
“My child, find cover. I need to go help Igneel. He may be strong, but even he can’t beat Acnologia and Archon alone.” Archon said, as he flew off to help his struggling brother  
“Please…. Be careful…” Natsu whispered  
The battle raged on, both sides firing powerful blasts, the land below them completely destroyed and the temperature far too hot for anyone but those with innate heat resistance, such as Natsu and the dragons, to exist.  
“ENOUGH OF THIS! I SHALL DESTROY YOU COMPLETELY! YOU CANNOT WITHSTAND THE MIGHT OF ACNOLOGIA! ARCANE DRAGON KING’S SECRET ART: ABSOLUTE JUDGEMENT!”  
“YOU ARE NOT WORTHY OF KINGSHIP, YOU BLACK MENACE! WHITE FLAME DRAGON KING’S SECRET ART: ABSOLUTE JUDGEMENT!”  
From Igneel came the largest blast of white fire he had ever seens, it’s temperature so high it seemed to melt the air itself. From Acnologia came a massive beam of blue energy, shaking the earth’s very core with strength. Both attacks blasted each other with such power, that Natsu was blown hundreds of feet away and was cut on the left side of his face from cheek to forehead by something that flew by. When the smoke cleared, both Acnologia and Igneel were barely flying, but Archon and Draco had both fallen. Draco had a gaping hole in the middle of his chest, and was missing several claws, while his wing was nearly torn off. Archon was somehow even worse, his scales melting off of him, and his belly completely bare. He was burnt so bad that there wasn’t a speck of blood, it burned away before anything could seep out, so it just appeared as if there was the melting husk of a dragon on the ground. Both were dead from the power of the blast.  
“DRACO! NO!!!!!!!!!” Natsu screamed.  
“Damnit! Brother! ACNOLOGIA! YOU SHALL PAY FOR YOUR TRANSGRESSIONS!”  
“YOU WILL FALL LIKE YOUR BROTHER! BY MY HAND AND MY HAND ALONE! A WORTHY SACRIFICE MY BROTHER MADE FOR ONE SUCH AS YOU! PREPARE TO DIE!”  
“Natsu! Run! I can’t hold him off much longer!” Igneel shouted  
“DAD!!! NO! I ALREADY LOST DRACO AND MY VILLAGE! I CAN’T LOSE YOU TOO! PLEASE!” Natsu screamed tears and blood pouring down his face.  
“YOU MUST MY SON! Remember what I told you long ago… You are unable to change the past, but you can live on for others who are unable to make it to the future.”  
“DAD!!! NO! DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!!!” Natsu screamed as the two dragons charged each other.  
As fast as it began, it was over. Acnologia had a gash on his side, was missing his left eye as well as his left arm, but was still flying and alive. Igneel was on the other side, missing his left wing, arm, and most of his chest, as he plummeted towards the earth.  
“FOOLISH… (pant) DRAGON.... I…. AM ACNOLOGIA…. THE KING….. OF… DRAGONS!” He roared out his victory, and flew off, though it appeared more of a drunken stumble through the air, with blood streaming from his wounds.  
“DAD!! NO!” Natsu screamed as he raced to his father’s side.  
“My son… I do not…have...any...time left…. in this world…. My final request…. Live for me… Make… friends… cherish and… protect those… you love… When the time… comes… you will finish…. what I started…. Kill Acnologia…. And save... this…. w-...”  
“No… Dad… Why? Why did you protect me… It’s all my fault… If I was stronger... I could have… I could have done something… I could have helped you… Why?? WHY!??! IGNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEL!!!”

[Elsewhere]

“So he’s finally done it… I wonder what he will do now? Will he conquer the world, or will he finally rest? Many things have been set into motion now, Acnologia...” The man simply sighed and walked off into the sunset, his black robes fluttering in the wind. “I wonder… Natsu…”


	2. The Second

Natsu was somewhat of a prodigy. He understood from a young age about death, learning about the fate of his village and likely his birth parents was a lesson he had to grasp, so Igneel made sure he understood it. The concept of mortality is one of the most difficult to grasp for anyone, but now Natsu had both an indirect and a direct understanding of that concept. But he still couldn’t figure out why it happened to him. What had he done to deserve so much loss so early on in life? His fathers were dead. They were murdered in front of his eyes by Acnologia and Archon. Sure, Archon got killed too, but it wasn’t worth it. Even if Igneel lived, losing Draco… it wasn’t worth it. If magic was so good and necessary, why has it only taken things away from him? And so his mind continued to race, while he walked aimlessly through the forest, the only thing keeping him going were the dying words of his father.   
“My son… I do not…have...any...time left…. in this world…. My final request…. Live for me… Make… friends… cherish and… protect those… you love… When the time… comes… you will finish…. what I started…. Kill Acnologia…. And save... this…. w-...”  
It had been several days since then. He barely ever stopped walking, almost never able to sleep and hardly finding the will to eat. He hadn’t eaten more than a few berries or slept more than an hour at a time since the day his fathers died. That is until he accidentally stumbled upon a small village that was known as Rösch. He honestly didn’t even notice he was in a town until he heard people whispering about him.  
“Who’s that?”  
“He looks absolutely feral! Look at his eye!”  
“His hair too, I’ve never seen anything even remotely like that before.”  
“And what is he wearing? Are those claws?”  
“His ears too, what on earthland are those?”  
Honestly, the villagers weren’t wrong. Natsu was only ten years old, but it looked like he had visited hell and come back. He was covered in dirt, scratches, and bruises. The left side of his face had a deep cut that looked like it would undoubtedly scar and it ran from his forehead straight down over his eye to his cheek. The final magical blast that killed Draco blew off his claw and sliced Natsu’s face. Honestly, he was lucky to be alive, let alone with the eye. He still had a similar outfit on, though a few sizes bigger than last time. White, knee-length pants, if you could call them that with how many tears they had, and an armless vest. On his neck he wore a scarf made of shimmering white scales and overtop of that he had made a necklace from the claw of Draco that had cut his face. From his ears he had made two earrings, from each one hung a scale from Archon. The dragons that had changed his life, for better or for worse, he decided, should stay with him at all times. And should he ever fulfill his father’s wish and slay Acnologia, he vowed to take a trophy from him too, just as his father took his arm and eye.  
He stopped and looked around for a moment, finally realizing that he was no longer wandering the forests alone. He decided to explore a little longer, even though he was barely able to stand. It was a very small village, he counted only around a few dozen homes, a shop, a central grassy area with a large tree in the middle, and a busy pub. It reminded him a little of the village he visited years ago right before returning from learning dragon slayer magic. ‘I wonder what that girl is doing now… It was almost like... I had an older sister…’ was his final thought, before collapsing from exhaustion.   
When he finally woke up, it looked as if he was lying in a bed in a room somewhere. Sitting up, he noticed that he was covered from head to toe in bandages, but still had all his clothes and self-made jewelry. The bed he was in was comfortable, he couldn’t really remember if he had ever slept in one before, but he knew what they were. It had only one pillow, a sheet, and a thin light blue quilt. The room was lit up by light lacrima, which revealed it to be some sort of bedroom, with one window, a door, and a closet. It was painted a pale yellow color, and there didn’t seem to be any decorations in the room, aside from a bedside table containing an unlit candle, and a desk with a chair, though the desk itself was totally bare. After a few minutes of figuring out where he was and what he was doing there, the door opened and a young boy stuck his head in the room.  
“Hey kid, you awake yet?” he asked him, peeking his head around the corner.   
The child who asked him was likely younger than Natsu, he looked to be about 8 or 9, and had short blonde hair. Only his face was peeking through the door, so Natsu couldn’t really tell anything else. Though he didn’t exactly have many options aside from going along with whatever was happening, he decided to simply nod after sitting up, wincing from the pain.  
“HEY, MA! HE’S UP! LOOKS LIKE IT HE’S IN A BIT OF PAIN THOUGH!”  
Moments later, an older lady that looked to be in her mid 50s came into the room. Her hair was graying, but you could tell it once had been black. Once again, her age and the stress that came from her lifestyle was obvious to Natsu, but he thought that she must have once been beautiful. She wore a sleeveless black shirt and a skirt that went down past her knees. Her smile was warm and caring, and Natsu decided quickly that she was someone he could trust.  
“Are you doing alright young man? You looked pretty beat up when we found you. Care to tell us your name?”  
“My name… My name is Natsu. Natsu Drakeneel…”  
“What an interesting name, Natsu, I have to say I quite like it. My name is Kathy, but everyone just calls me Ma. Now, why don’t you lie down and rest and I’ll go get you something to eat. You must be starved.”  
Natsu nodded and laid back down. He still wasn’t sure exactly what happened. One moment he was thinking of his fathers and wandering through the forest, the next moment he was in a town being judged for what he looked like, and then he woke up here. It only took about 10 or 15 minutes before Kathy came back into the room with a tray that had what looked like soup and a glass of water.  
“Here you go, Natsu. It’s not much, but you should start out slow for now.”   
She set the tray down on the table next to the bed, and handed him the soup when he sat up. After sniffing it for a moment, he began to eat it slowly. After finishing, he downed the glass of water and handed everything back to Kathy.  
“Now then, young man, why don’t you tell me what happened to you? Parker ran in saying he found a boy a little older than he was passed out outside and that he looked injured.”  
“Where am I?” Natsu responded. While he definitely thought he could trust this woman seeing as she gave him food that was safe to eat, as his enhanced dragon nose told him, but also patched up a lot of his wounds. He knew about infections and was hoping that the cut over his eye wasn’t going to get infected.   
“You’re in our infirmary. Unfortunately, it’s not very big, but at least we don’t need to use it very often.”  
“Who’s we?” Natsu asked, still very confused and really only figuring out what an infirmary was due to the circumstance he found himself in  
“This side of town is basically one large orphanage. Myself and a handful of other ladies live here and take in children who are lost and without parents to take care of them. That’s where you are young man, the orphanage in Rösch. Now why don’t you tell me about how you got so injured and where your parents are?”  
Natsu hesitated for a moment. Now that he knew he seemed to be in relatively little danger, the fatigue really set in. He wanted nothing more than to sleep a little longer, but he also knew that this lady was genuinely concerned for him, but he wasn’t sure if he could talk about what happened yet.  
“I’m...sorry… could I… sleep a little longer first…” He asked her, with a pleading look in his eye.  
The lady sighed before touching him gently on the shoulder and helping him lie back down. “Of course child, but know that I can’t do much for you if I don’t know what’s wrong. I’ll check on you from time to time, but since I’m letting you sleep, you are not to leave this bed until I tell you to. Understood? You are very hurt and running around like a hooligan will only make you worse.”  
Natsu nodded and shut his eyes, falling asleep almost instantly.   
He tossed and turned in his sleep, crying out for Igneel and Draco constantly. His dreams were plagued with memories of the black dragon that killed his parents.  
“IGNEEL!!! YOU HAVE HELD THE TITLE OF KING FOR FAR TOO LONG! THE DRAGONS ARE ALL BUT EXTINCT FROM MY POWER! YOU ARE THE LAST ONE STANDING IN THE WAY OF MY ULTIMATE UNDISPUTED RULE! BOW TO YOUR KING AND DIE!”  
They wouldn’t leave him. The booming voice of that beast, that creature, unfit to be called a dragon let alone a king.   
“I SHALL DESTROY YOU COMPLETELY! YOU CANNOT WITHSTAND THE MIGHT OF ACNOLOGIA!”   
He wished for anything other than this. He wanted to dream of the happy times with Igneel, learning how to speak and read and write. The times with Draco learning how to use magic. Anything but these hellish nightmares, watching his father figures die over and over.  
“FOOLISH… (pant) DRAGON.... I…. AM ACNOLOGIA…. THE KING….. OF… DRAGONS!”  
“Igneel!” He shot awake shouting. He was sweating all over, nearly trembling in fear and sorrow, and panting, desperately trying to catch his breath.  
“Why… I don’t understand…” He whispered, trying desperately not to cry. “You are unable (sniff) to change the past… but you can live on for others (sniff) who were unable to make it to the future…”   
A few minutes later, with Natsu still sweating and holding his head trying to free himself from these nightmares, the door opened and Kathy entered with another woman. She was much younger, only in her early 20s, but there was something very familiar about her. He slowly turned his head to look at her.  
“N-natsu? Is… is that you?” she asked, almost afraid at what the answer would be.  
Kathy looked shocked, “You know this child dearie?’  
Natsu sniffed hesitantly, continuing to sniff while she slowly walked towards him, almost afraid to accept who it was.   
“A-ashley? Is th-that really...you?”  
She finally got up to him and just looked at him and nodded. He immediately wrapped his arms around her in a fierce hug, not caring about how much it hurt his wounded body. Just finally able to hold and smell something familiar, and he greedily inhaled the scent in the crook of her neck. After a few seconds she returned the hug, gently stroking his back while holding him. After a few moments, they separated, Natsu with a weak smile on his face as he gazed upon the only other person he ever formed a connection with.   
“I promised didn’t I? That I’d see you again.” He said, trying to force himself to smile.  
She returned with a sad smile of her own and sat down turning back to Kathy, who was still understandably confused, but happy that he seemed to be comfortable around someone.  
“Kathy, remember I told you that three years ago a few thugs tried to rob me and that a young boy came to my rescue? That was why I joined the orphanage after all, to try to help others as he helped me that day.”  
Kathy nodded, with her eyes wide open.  
“Well, this is him. Natsu. Natsu Drakeneel. Though I must admit the last time we saw each other, he wasn’t quite as beat up as he is now.” she finished with a sad smile. “Now, why don’t you tell us what happened to you, Natsu. Why are you so hurt? What happened to Igneel and Draco?”  
He hesitated for a moment looking at Kathy and then back at Ashley, before breaking down into tears. “They’re… dead… it’s all my fault… I wasn’t… I wasn’t strong enough… they’re dead…”  
Ashley was shocked and Kathy just seemed very sad, albeit a bit confused at what he meant.  
“Do you think you’re ready to tell us what happened? If you need more time, it’s ok.”  
He shook his head and took a deep breath, finally ready to tell them what happened, and began to tell the story between the occasional tear or sniffle.  
“It was a few days ago, I don’t know how long exactly. We were about to go home after I had finished my lessons for the day, they both said my hearing and smell weren’t accurate enough for a royal dragon… Stuck up lizards.” he said with a small, sad smile. “Then… they came and… it was so fast…”  
Kathy was still standing, completely confused, trying to get some understanding from Ashley who interrupted him momentarily to give him a hug. Natsu inhaled and began speaking again, while Kathy pulled over a chair and sat down.  
“It was... Acnologia. He and his brother, Archon, came... to kill Igneel and Draco. Igneel tried but... Draco had to help. Draco and Archon died to their judgement blast, and I almost lost my eye from a talon that flew off Draco’s hand. They both died instantly from the blast. Then Igneel and Acnologia...they... charged each other and Igneel… he… he died after wounding Acnologia. Why? IGNEEL!! DRACO! WHYYYYYY??”  
He immediately returned to tears shaking in Ashley’s arms who was crying too. Even as confused as Kathy was, she was near tears herself.   
“If I had been stronger… I could have… I could have helped them and he would… Igneel would still be alive. Maybe Draco too… That’s why they raised me… to kill that menace, and I failed… I failed them both… I-”  
“No. Natsu. You did not fail anyone.”  
“But I-”  
“NO! Natsu, listen to me!” she grabbed him by his shoulders and looked him in the eyes. “Both Igneel and Draco loved you. If they didn’t they wouldn’t have protected you, or saved you from the village, or taught you language and magic. Why would they do so much if you were but a weapon to them? You were their child and you weren’t ready yet. When and if the time comes you will be ready to deal with that dragon. And I’m sure that wherever those two ended up, they’re watching you and are proud that you’re still alive.”  
Natsu was reduced to tears and was shaking incessantly, it was just too much…  
“I can’t sleep..., I can’t eat... All I can see are his jet black wings... All I can hear is his roar… All I can feel is the blast from the judgement of two kings... It’s too much. I don’t know what to do.”  
“I know, Natsu. I know. No one should ever have to go through something like that, especially at your age. Why don’t you lie back down for a while, and I’ll come back in and talk to you some more in a bit, ok?”  
He just nodded and released Ashley from his death hug, as he laid back down. Ashley got up, gave him a kiss on his forehead, and motioned Kathy to follow her out of the room. Natsu was asleep almost immediately after the door closed, finally able to sleep with a little bit of peace knowing he still had at least one more person left that he cared about.  
The two women walked into another room and sat at a table, both still wiping their own tears from their eyes, although Ashley was seemingly more affected seeing as she knew what he was talking about.  
“That child, did he say Acnologia? And dragon kings? I have to say, I didn’t understand much about that story, but it sounds absolutely dreadful.”  
“It’s a little less confusing if you know what he’s talking about. I have to say, while I did believe him when he told me, I was a bit skeptical at first. He said that he was being raised by two dragons, the White Fire Dragon King named Igneel and a fire dragon named Draco. Apparently, when I met him, he was finishing his dragon slayer magic training with Draco and was heading back to see Igneel again for the first time in two years in order to learn how to use special dragon magic. I’m not as good at explaining it as he was, I do apologize.”  
“He was raised by dragons? Dear, that’s just not possible! The last dragon sighting was hundreds of years ago, and the only one believed to still be alive is Acnologia, which is utter nonsense. That village they say he destroyed a while ago was just some evil mage looking to kill for money, not a dragon. That’s why I was so surprised to hear that name, just saying it aloud is considered to be taboo and will bring bad luck.”  
“Well, I can’t say I have met them, but I can say he uses some sort of powerful fire magic. And did you see his jewelry? The necklace had some sort of talon on it, and he was wearing what looked like scales on his ears. Even that scarf looked peculiar, it was shimmering white and almost felt alive.”  
“I don’t know, dear. It sounds like his imagination. When he wakes up, we can ask him about it again to try and see if he can tell us anything else. Do you think he’d want to stay here for a while? Whether his story is true or not, he doesn’t seem to have anywhere to go or anyone to take care of him.”  
“Well, he said that he can take care of himself in the wild when I met him several years ago, so I’m not sure. I think we should get him to stay here, just for a little while. I only knew him briefly, but it felt like… almost like I had another sibling… and I never got to pay him back for helping my sister and I…”  
“Judging from his reaction to seeing you, I think he feels the same dearie. I guess we can wait and see. If he’s good at taking care of himself, maybe he’ll be able to help us care for the younger children as well. Food is something no one is great at getting, and I don’t think the town even has a mage in it.”  
“I think you’re right Kathy…” she said with a smile, and left to go settle down to bed herself for the evening.  
“Such an interesting child…”  
The next morning Natsu woke up confused again at where he was, until the memories from the previous day flooded his mind. Wandered into a town that is apparently called Rösch? Check. Collapsed after exploring and being judged and talked about? Check. Waking up in some place called an infirmary in an orphanage? Check. And finally meeting Ashley and an older lady named Kathy? Well, hopefully that last one was true. It seemed almost too good, like fate was dangling a toy on a string waiting for him to try to regain some lost joy just to take it away again. He woke up and got out of bed. He was still sore, completely unsure how he had walked as far as he did, and tried to do some basic stretches he learned from Draco. ‘Sit down on the ground with my legs apart. Put my right hand over my left and stretch trying to reach my toes. Slowwwwly’ he thought to himself. He was on his third stretching exercise, when there was a knock at the door.  
“Natsu? Are you awake? May I come in?” Ashley asked from the other side of the door  
“Sure,” said Natsu, finishing up his stretch and sitting on the bed.  
Ashley sat down next to him and gave him a hug before asking, “How did you sleep? Were you able to get through the night?”  
“Yeah, I don’t think I woke up this time… It was still hard, but I feel a little better than yesterday.”  
“That’s wonderful, Natsu. Would you like to come downstairs and try to eat something? We can introduce you to the others?”  
“Sure, but could you help me walk?” Natsu asked, hesitantly.  
“Of course, you think I was gonna make you crawl?” she asked with a giggle. “I have one more question before we head downstairs, Natsu. Would you like to stay at the orphanage for a while? You’re still healing both mentally and physically, and I think once you get a bit better you can help us out. And it’s nice seeing you again…”  
Natsu thought for a moment. He had never lived with other humans before, at least not that he could remember. He was always either camping alone as part of ‘survival training’ from Draco and Igneel, or living with one or both of them. It was strange, but he felt compelled to stay. He supposed it had something to do with Ashley, finally finding the last person he cared about to stay with.  
“Sure… I don’t know why, but... I feel like I should stay. I just want to stay near the only family I have left. I’ve never lived with humans before, so I don’t really know what to do but maybe you could help me?”  
Ashley started to tear up hearing that he thought of her as family too, and gave him another hug. “Of course, and I’m glad you think of me as family too. Now come on little brother, let’s go eat and you can meet the others that live in this building too.”  
“Thanks… big… sister…”  
The two headed down the stairs, with Natsu’s arm draped around her shoulders, leaning on her. His only major injury was over his left eye, which was currently bandaged and covered, but he could tell it was still there so it probably still worked fine. Largely, he was just sore and weak. Other than the soup, he hadn’t eaten in days, and he had barely been able to sleep more than an hour at a time before waking up with tremors and sweats from the nightmares that plagued his mind. They found him some different clothes and apparently changed them while he was unconscious. He now wore cargo shorts and a black T-Shirt, but luckily for him and them, they left his various jewelry and scarf in place, probably unsure of what they were.  
The two entered the kitchen, and at the table were two girls and a boy. The boy he recognized from the previous day as, and the two girls he was unfamiliar with. Parker was the name of the boy with the short blonde hair he remembered, and wore a similar outfit to Natsu, cargo shorts but with a blue t-shirt instead of black. Natsu was slightly older and more muscular from his training, but Parker made up for it by being an inch or two taller than him despite being visibly younger. The two girls there appeared to be about the same age as Parker, making Natsu the oldest of the bunch. One girl he recalled being Ashley’s sister, Cindy Ward. She looked the same as Ashley, albeit much younger than her. Ashley looked to be about 21 or 22, while Cindy was only 9 or 10. The last girl was the shortest of the bunch, and had light green shoulder length hair with a ponytail and a bow. Her name, he found out, was Treya.  
“Ok everyone, listen up! We have another that’s going to be staying with us for a while. I happen to know him, a few years ago he saved me from a bunch of thugs that were trying to steal money, and helped me and Cindy out for a few days. If it weren’t for him, I probably wouldn’t be here at all, so make sure you guys get along. Would you like to introduce yourself?” Ashley asked, standing at the entrance to the kitchen.  
“Uh, hi. I’m Natsu Drakeneel, but you can just call me Natsu…” Natsu was hesitant, other than with Ashley, he really didn’t know any other humans. They were strange to him, and he hadn’t met many he actually liked.  
“Hi, Natsu! I missed you! You should have come and visited me!” Cindy said, with a bit of a pout.  
“I’m Parker. Nice to meet ya!”  
“H-hello… I’m T-treya…” Treya seemed quite frightened of the child that was standing in front of her, and she tried to hide behind Parker. It was quite understandable really, so Natsu didn’t take offense. Humans tended to be scared or weirded out by him, and he definitely looked a bit frightening right now. He was adorned with the trappings of fallen dragons and had bandages on his arms and legs, as well as an eye patch over his left eye.   
Natsu sat down across from the three of them, and started to eat. They each had a piece of toast, an egg, and some sort of juice that he hadn’t had before. It was different, he thought, seeing as he had never really had human food before. He really just ate whatever he could hunt down and kill, whatever his dragon fathers brought, or whatever berries he could find in the woods.  
“Where’d you get all that stuff from? And why does your hair look like that?” Parker asked, stuffing his mouth with the toast.  
“Why don’t you give him time to settle in, Parker. You’re being insensitive.” Ashley scolded him, coming over with her own breakfast.  
“No, it’s ok big sister. I-I think I can talk about it. The scarf was a gift from Draco, I got it right after I met you actually…”

[Flashback]

“Where the hell is that fire face anyway? He should have been here hours ago!” Natsu grumbled. He was sitting in front of a fire, gnawing on some food he had brought from his time with Ashley as he awaited Draco’s return. Fortunately, he arrived only about an hour later, landing in front of him.  
“About time you got here, Matchstick! I’ve been here for hours!” Natsu shouted, running over to him. “FIRE DRAGON’S IRON-”  
Thump  
Draco just whacked him over the head with his tail laughing at his child’s antics.  
“Oh be quiet child, I’m here now aren’t I? Besides, I have something for you.”   
“Really? Is it food? I just ate, but I’m still hungry don’t worry!” Natsu was already excited, trying to get the dirt out of his hair from his intimacy with the ground after being knocked senseless from Draco’s tail.  
“There is more to life than food, fighting, and fiction, Natsu. It would do you well to remember. Anyways, no that is not it. I went to visit an old friend of mine and asked him to make something for you with Igneel’s old scales. Here take a look.” Draco reached up behind his neck and pulled out a bag that contained a brilliant white scarf that seemed to almost glow with life.  
“Really? It’s made from his scales? That’s so COOL! You two are the best!” He shouted, putting the scarf on and hugging the dragon on his leg.  
“Of course I am! And it was my idea too, so make sure you rub it in that pudgy lizard’s face, got that? Good! Let’s get going, it’s about a day’s flight from here. You can sleep on the way if you’d like.”

[End Flashback]

All the children but Cindy were stunned into silence, Parker had dropped his toast with his jaw on the floor halfway through the story.   
“Draco sounds cool! I wish I could meet him!” Cindy squealed, already aware that Natsu’s parentage was entirely that of two dragons.  
“YOUR DAD WAS A DRAGON?!?!” Parker shouted in disbelief.  
“Both of them were, but they were brothers. I considered both of them father figures.” Natsu explained, nodding.  
“I-I thought dr-dragons didn’t exist,” Treya nervously asked. “Are they, r-really real?”  
“Of course, but I don’t know about now though…” Natsu frowned and let his hair cover his eyes as he continued eating his breakfast.   
The three kids looked at each other, unsure of exactly what he meant, but somehow they knew they probably shouldn’t ask him about it. They finished their meal in silence, and Natsu headed back upstairs to lie down for a while. He got up every few hours to explore the village, still getting lots of comments about his strange hair, the primal jewelry he adorned himself with, and the bandages that remained. After a week, to everyone’s shock, he was completely healed, but a long scar over his left eye remained.   
As quickly as he had arrived, a month went by. He loved everyone in his house, and thought of them as one big family of siblings. Treya was the nervous little sister who took almost the entire month to warm up to him, Cindy was the happy outgoing sister who had to be reigned in at times, and Parker was the troublemaking younger brother. Natsu was a protective big brother to all of them, and Ashley of course, was their caring big sister. The first week was spent familiarizing himself with human customs, healing, and exploring the village of Rösch. There were a few things that confused him a lot, and took time to explain. For example, every time he met someone he would walk over to them and start sniffing all over them. It took a long time for Ashley to explain that that was weird for people to do, and he probably should stop doing it. He also didn’t understand humans’ desire for privacy and personal space at times. Natsu was a naturally tactile person, and anyone he trusted he had a tendency to cling onto, whether hugging them, grabbing their hand, or once again, sniffing all over the place to find out information. It took quite a bit of explaining before he realized that humans did not have very good senses of smell and that he happened to have one strong enough to distinguish people, where they’d been, track them, and among other things. The other kids in his house constantly tested his sense of hearing or smell, probably because they didn’t fully believe him, by blindfolding him and having him distinguish people by smell alone, or by going far away and asking him what they had talked about. He wasn’t entirely happy that they didn’t believe him, but he understood. The second week he spent reconnecting with Cindy and getting to know Parker. The third week he and Treya finally got comfortable around each other. She got used to his rather unusual way of dress and his constant sniffing, and Natsu stopped avoiding her because he was uncomfortable making other people uncomfortable. At the end of the month, he knew all the kids’ stories. Parker’s parents abandoned him when he was very young, and he had moved around orphanages from the age of 3. This one, he said, he had been in the longest, for about 4 years now. It seemed rather sad, but Parker insisted he loved it. If his parents left him, that was ok, he had people that cared about him now. Cindy and Ashley had moved to Rösch about a year after he left, so they had been living here for 2 years. Their parents passed away soon after Cindy was born, and Ashley had been taking care of the two of them for almost 7 years. Treya had always been shy, but it was after her mother was killed that it really sunk in. Their village had been host to a dark guild, which terrorized the town. Eventually, the council was sent in to restore the place, but her mother was killed during the fighting. The council had brought her to Rösch the year before Natsu had arrived. Apparently, she never knew her father or why he wasn’t in her life. Not that he’d ever admit it, but Treya was his favorite after Ashley, though he loved them all dearly.  
They were in the shared bedroom about to go to bed for the night, when Parker decided to finally ask about Natsu.  
“Hey, Natsu?”  
“Yeah?”  
“Uh… well… we were told we probably shouldn’t ask, so you don’t have to answer if you want, but well, what happened to you? Why were you so injured when you got here, and why do you have so much dragon jewelry on?”  
“PARKER!!” both girls yelled, scolding him for invading his privacy like that.  
Natsu hesitated for a moment before stopping them.   
“No, no, it’s… it’s fine. I mean, I’d be curious too, and you guys told me what happened to you, right? It’s only fair…” He took a deep breath and told them the story. He told them how he had been found in a village destroyed by Acnologia and brought back to a cave belonging to the White Fire Dragon King Igneel and his brother Draco. He told them about how he learned language, reading, writing, culture and philosophy. He was brought away by Draco and taught magic, and met Ashley by beating up some thugs, which everyone cheered for. Then he told them how he ate a salamander when he got back, and how he began to learn to use the king’s white flames. Then finally, of the fateful day with the battle between his only family, and the black dragons, Acnologia and Archon.  
“After they died, I didn’t know what to do. I felt like I lost everything about me. I still had so much more to learn and do with them. After a few hours, I decided it was time to leave, but I needed something to remember them by, and to always have with me. I had the scarf for Igneel, but nothing of Draco. I sniffed around and found the claw that scarred my eye, and made a necklace from some string I had in my bag. The earrings were harder. I had to find intact scales from Archon. I used Igneel’s flames to burn a hole through the center, but it took a long time of concentrated flames. It was harder than trying to make a small hole in my ear. I eventually just superheated Draco’s claw and forced it through, but at that point everything else was in so much pain I couldn’t feel it. After that, I felt like I had enough. I didn’t where to go but Igneel’s last words echoed to me as I walked…”  
Treya was in tears and immediately ran up and hugged him, Cindy and Parker were miserable too, not really understanding how terrible it was to have both parents murdered in front of you, with nowhere and nothing to turn to.  
“Listen, I’m sorry, I had no idea-”  
“No, it’s fine Parker. Really. It’s about time I got over it. I was able to tell the story this time right? That must mean I’m getting better I think…” he said, still patting Treya’s back as she nuzzled into her big brother’s chest. “Let’s go to bed. If you want to see, tomorrow I’ll show you guys my magic. I still don’t know what I want to do with it, but... I think I’m ready to use it again.”  
And that’s what they did, Treya snuggled up with Natsu, still not ready to leave him as they slept. The next day Natsu showed them some basic fire magic, no major spells, but simply the ability he had to manipulate it, how hot it got, and talked about some of the things he had been taught. Parker thought the orange flames were the best, but the girls adored the royal white flames. So they continued like that over the days and weeks that followed, getting to know each other and becoming comfortable. Natsu finally felt like he had a family again.


	3. The Third

“Natsu!” Ashley shouted  
“Coming!”  
It has been 3 months since Natsu began living in the town of Rösch, and he had settled in quite nicely. He managed to buy a few sets of clothes, for some reason he would only wear white knee-length pants and an open vest, much to Ashley’s annoyance, he purchased a real metal chain for Draco’s claw, and Kathy gifted him with small metal loops to hang Archon’s scales from. The town seemingly got used to the child’s strange method of dress, and it was explained to the few visitors that would come and ask about it, that it was what he always wore and not to think too much into it. Natsu had a family that loved him, and he loved them right back. While it was true that he was fully healed physically, the damage witnessing his two fathers being killed in front of him was still hard for him, and he still hasn’t fully come to terms with what happened. He doesn’t practice his magic anymore, only using his orange dragon flames for candles, cooking, or fireplaces, and hasn’t touched his white flames since demonstrating his powers to his friends a few months ago.  
Since Natsu was fully able to live in the wild on his own, and didn’t really need anyone to watch over him, he took on a lot of the responsibilities of his big sister figure, and helped the orphanage as a whole. One of the main jobs he did, and what he was the most liked for, was that he actually knew how to hunt. The orphanage was quite poor, they had enough to feed the children they had and give each of them a very small allowance, but that was about it. Because of this, good, fresh meat had been somewhat of a rarity. They ate it on occasion, but it was expensive to buy enough for everyone, so most of their food involved cheaper things such as bread, eggs, rice, pasta, soup, and beans. Things that could be made quickly and shared with everyone. However, once they realized Natsu not only could hunt, but was quite proficient at it, they had him go out at least once a week to bring back stuff to eat. Not that he minded, in fact he quite enjoyed it. Every once in a while, he’d bring Parker after being begged for the whole week beforehand, and once he brought Treya, even the most cold-blooded couldn’t resist her puppy dog eyes. But for the most part, he preferred doing it alone. It brought him time to think and remember the times he had with Draco and Igneel, and even to think about what Igneel had asked of him before dying. Natsu understood vengeance, and wanted it, but he was still scared. He was scared of what magic could do. He witnessed firsthand how it failed to protect those close to him. If it was supposed to be used to protect, why didn’t it? He just didn’t understand, so he decided he would only use magic when necessary until he could understand everything.  
“It’s hunting day! Did you pack everything you need?”  
“Of course I did! Always ready to go!” Natsu replied, with his usual toothy grin.   
“Well aren’t you as excited as always! Did you manage to avoid Treya and Parker this time, or are they-?”  
“SHHH! They’ll hear you!” Natsu interrupted, putting a hand over her mouth and looking quickly around to see if they had heard.  
Ashley just laughed. “Well run along now, hothead. I’d like to have something for dinner this time, so come back before dark, ya’ hear?”  
“Sure thing, big sis! I’ll be back later!” he said, as he ran back out into the forest.   
He had been walking around for a while, trying to pick up the scent of something to eat. ‘A few rabbits would be good, though a dear or something roughly that size would last much longer than just one or two meals. Plus,’ he thought. ‘I’ve been meaning to get an antler for a while now. I have way too many rabbit things.’ Natsu was a collector of sorts, he always took trophies from the things he killed. He and all the other kids in the orphanages now had lucky rabbit's feet to carry around with them. The adults found it a bit strange, but they figured since the kids liked it so much, and didn’t actually do them any harm if they were prepared properly, they would let it go. After all, living with a dragon’s child was all about coming to an understanding of what was normal for people or dragons. After two hours, he had managed to collect 3 large rabbits, which would be enough to feed everyone for the next day or two. On his way back, he decided to rest before heading home. It was a long hunt, and finding the creatures hadn’t been easy, so he found himself a shady spot under a tree and fell into a light snooze.  
Smack  
“OW! WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT!” Natsu shouted, jumping up. Something had woken him up with a hefty smack on the head, but he couldn’t see or smell anyone or anything out of the ordinary. That is, except for the giant white egg covered in blue markings that had seemingly fell out of the sky and hit him on the tree.  
“An egg?” Natsu thought, as he examined the thing. He knew what eggs were, eaten them, and hunted for them multiple times, but this was different. This egg was much larger than any other he had seen, and felt warm. It seemed to be almost brimming with life, as if something was calling him from it.  
“I’ll bet it’s a dragon egg! No way anything else is this big!” Natsu exclaimed. He tied the rabbits onto some string he brought, tied them around his waist, grabbed the egg, and sprinted back towards the village to show off his latest prize. This time though, it wasn’t a decoration or a piece of jewelry. This was something he intended to hatch and raise on his own.  
“BIG SIS! BIG SIS! COME HERE, QUICK!” Natsu shouted, running towards the house he shared.  
Ashley immediately hurried outside. “Natsu, what’s wrong? Are you ok? Did you get hurt? I knew it, you should have brought Park=”  
“LOOK WHAT I FOUND!!” Natsu interrupted, holding out the strange egg in front of her.  
“An egg? Well I suppose we could have that, but I was expecting rabbits to be honest… Why is it so big?” Ashley responded, reaching for the egg.  
Natsu immediately yanked the egg away, protecting it. “Are you crazy? We’re not gonna eat this! I’m gonna hatch it! I think it’s a dragon egg!”   
“A dragon egg? Listen, Natsu, I really don’t think that’s what that is…” Ashley tried to reason with him, but he was having none of it. This egg was staying with him until it hatched, no matter what.  
“Alright, fine Natsu. You can keep the egg. But it’s your responsibility to hatch it, and you can’t complain we didn’t help if it doesn’t hatch. Got it?”   
“Of course! It’s almost like it wants me to take care of it anyway, it’s the best!” Natsu handed her the rabbits, and raced off to the bedroom shared by the four children in an attempt to make a makeshift nest for it. Once he was done, he ran back downstairs and out the door, “I’ll be back! I gotta tell the others about it!”  
He raced across town, responding to a few greetings, and even getting stopped to ask if he had gone hunting recently by Kathy, who insisted on keeping him there to talk about how it went. As soon as he could though, he raced over to the park where Treya, Parker, and Cindy were hanging around just enjoying the day.  
“EVERYONE! YOU’LL NEVER GUESS WHAT I FOUND!” Natsu shouted, running up to them, panting from exhaustion.  
“Was it another deer? I love deer, you really need to get that more often,” Parker said, dreaming of gorging himself silly on a deer.  
“I bet it was something else, maybe it was a Salamander. Those are super rare, and you said they were delicious right?” Cindy asked him, remembering the stories he told them of feasting on the dragonkin with his parents.  
“What is it Natsu, don’t keep us waiting!” Treya exclaimed, happily giving him a hug.   
“No! I found an egg!” He said, returning the hug to Treya and giving a huge toothy grin.  
“EHHH????” All three said at the same time.  
“Ugh, we have eggs all the time. I really thought you got deer this time,” Parker whined.  
“No! This egg is special! I think it’s a dragon egg, and I’m gonna hatch it and raise it all by myself!” Natsu declared.  
“Really? Can we see it?” Treya asked, almost as giddy as Natsu.  
“Of course! Come on!” He said, grabbing Treya over his shoulder and sprinting back towards the house.  
“AHHHH! NATSU!! PUT ME DOWN!” Treya screamed, trying to wriggle out of his hold.  
“Oh, yeah, right. Sorry about that.” Natsu chuckled nervously, setting her down and waiting for the others to catch up. “I just got really excited.”  
“Ugh, it’s fine, but you can’t just grab people you know!” Treya scolded.  
“Slow...down...Natsu…” Cindy said panting, finally catching up with the two, alongside Parker.  
“You guys are just slow, come on, we’re almost there!” He led them through the town back to their shared house and up into the bedroom.  
“See? It’s huge, and it feels so happy every time I touch it!” He exclaimed holding the egg in front of them.  
“How can an egg feel happy, Natsu? That makes no sense.” Parker said, examining the egg.  
“Sure it can!” Natsu responded, still giving a huge smile.  
“It really is huge! Can I hold it?” Treya asked, nearly as excited as Natsu was.  
“Of course! I’m gonna keep it in here, and when I’m off hunting you guys will have to make sure it stays nice and warm.” Natsu explained, handing the egg to Treya.  
“Wow! That sounds like fun!” Treya giggled as she held the egg.  
“You bet, I can’t wait till it hatches! I bet it’ll be able to breath fire, just like me!”  
All three were visibly excited, and they spent the rest of the afternoon watching the egg and talking until dinnertime. Just as they said, Natsu kept the egg with him, sleeping with it, carrying it almost everywhere he went, and the others would share caring for it whenever Natsu wanted some time to himself or to go hunting. They all tried to convince him to go out more often to spend time with it, so he was sure to give everyone their turn.

[1 Month Later]

“(Yawn)... I’m exhausted. I’m not hunting for another week at least.” Natsu grumbled, hauling a deer over his shoulder. It was quite a catch, weighing probably around 300 pounds. Even the townsfolk who were used to Natsu carrying around large amounts of animals across town were quite surprised, he had only brought deer back once and it was quite small, no more than 200 at most.   
“Wow, what’ve you got there, Natsu?” asked one of the shopkeepers. His name was Reginald, and was quite good friends with Natsu, after he helped Natsu make a new version of his talon necklace, and it was the same shop that Kathy had given him the metal for his scale earrings.   
“Parker’s been bugging me about a deer for a month now, and I finally found one. This big guy was a wily one, it took an hour to track, and almost another half hour before I managed to bring it down.” Natsu explained, taking a short break. “Do you think you could help me with these antlers? I want to hang one on my wall, so if you help you can have the other one.”  
“Of course!” Reginald exclaimed. “Anything for you young man, though I will say the antler is quite generous. Why don’t you stop by in a few days, and we can work on them a bit?”   
“Sure thing! Thanks a lot!” Natsu said, hoisting the deer back over his shoulder.  
“NATSU! NATSU!”   
“Treya?” Natsu, wondered. Reginald seemed a bit confused as well, since usually they were taking care of that strange egg for as long as possible when Natsu was out.  
“IT’S HATCHING! IT’S HATCHING!!”  
“REALLY??? LET’S GO! GRAMPS, WATCH THE DEER FOR ME WILL YA’?” He shouted, already taking off, once again grabbing Treya over his shoulder.   
“GOOD LUCK, KID!” Reginald shouted after them. “I wonder if he knows that he’s the only one in town who can haul a 300 pound deer by himself. Strange kid,” he said to himself, shaking his head, sitting down out front to read while keeping an eye on the deer.  
“NATSU! PUT ME DOWN!” Treya shouted.  
“Sorry, this is important!” Natsu said, still running with Treya over his shoulder.  
“Ugh, fine! THIS time!” She grumbled finally just accepted that he was not going to put her down, and just accepted the taxi service.  
They both burst through the door and ran up the stairs, Natsu not putting Treya down until they got in the room.  
“You got him, great!” said Cindy, giving them a smile before turning back to the egg. It was shaking slightly, and had a faint glow.  
“Awesome! My own dragon!” Natsu said, kneeling in front of his bed and grabbing the sides. As soon as he touched it, the egg started to glow even brighter, nearly blinding them.  
“Whoah, what’s going on?!” Parker shouted.  
“Who knows, this is so cool!” said Cindy, grabbing onto Natsu’s arm and shielding her eyes.  
Crack…  
Crack… KCH  
With one final split, the glowing stopped, and a tiny blue kitten flew out of the egg and proceeded to sit down directly on Natsu’s head.  
“EHHHHH??!?!?!” All four of them exclaimed at the same time.  
“It’s a cat?? I thought it was a dragon?” Parker questioned, though oddly enough not questioning the fact that not only did a cat hatch from an egg, but that the cat was blue and had wings.  
“IT’S SO CUTE!!” both girls shouted, ooohing and awwing at the creature.  
“Aye!” said the cat, before curling up into a ball and falling asleep.  
Natsu gently grabbed the sleeping kitten and set it back down on the bed, before motioning the other to follow him out of the room, giving the kitten some time to sleep. As soon as they got downstairs they all raced to find Ashley and all started talking at once. She caught bits and pieces like, hatch, deer, and cat.  
“QUIET!!” Ashley yelled, silencing them all instantly. “One at a time! Natsu, did you get anything on the hunt? And why are you all so excited!”  
“Yeah I did, but it’s with Reginald, I was in a hurry!” Natsu exclaimed. “It hatched! The egg hatched, and it’s a flying blue cat that can talk!!”   
“EHHHHHH????!” Ashley looked as if she was going to pass out, but decided to go check for herself. They all followed her and sure enough, sleeping on Natsu’s pillow was a tiny blue kitten.  
“Well, that’s certainly… new? I guess? I’m not quite sure.” Ashley stuttered, still in shock over a blue cat hatching out of the egg. She didn’t expect it to hatch, let alone a cat. Not to mention Natsu had said it had wings and could talk! As far fetched as it had sounded, Natsu had said a lot of things over the time they had known each other, and all of them seemed to be true. Ashley backed out of the room, quietly shutting the door and they all headed back downstairs.  
“Well, why don’t we get something to drink. Natsu, you said you did get something on the hunt? Where is it, it’s time to start getting ready for dinner.”  
“Oh yeah! I got a big one! I had to hurry, so I left it back at Reginalds, he should be watching it for me.” Natsu said getting ready to go back to get it.  
“A big one, eh? What’d you get this time? Finally get that deer Parker’s been asking about?” she chuckled, turning around back to the kitchen.  
“Yup! This thing has gotta be 300 pounds at least!” Natsu said, walking out the door.  
All three of them just watched him walk out of the house, their jaws on the floor in shock.  
“ALL RIGHT! IT’S ABOUT TIME! I’LL GO HELP HIM BRING IT BACK!” Parker shouted, running out after Natsu.   
“What a day…” Ashley shook her head, heading back into the kitchen.  
“Do you think he knows that he’s the only one who can carry a 300 pound deer in the village?” Cindy asked Treya.  
“Doubt it!” Treya answered, and they both exploded into a fit of giggles.  
Later that evening they all ate the deer he had brought back, and Natsu got the antlers ready for Reginald when he went to see him next. They all had a new guest at the table, who seemed to be fond of the milk Ashley gave him, and picked slightly at the deer, but for the most part, he just slept on Natsu’s head.  
“Well, he seems quite fond of you, Natsu. What are you gonna call him?” Ashley asked, clearing the dishes from the table.  
“Well, when I found him the egg gave me a warm, happy feeling, so I think I’ll go with that! His name is Happy!”  
“Aye!” the kitten yawned, flying over and laying down on Treya’s head before falling back asleep.

[8 Months Later]

“What do you mean we’re out of fish, just go get more!” Happy whined, putting his hands on his hips.  
“You are perfectly capable of catching your own fish, Happy! We’re going to the river today anyway, so why don’t you come with us instead of laying around all day!” Natsu responded, putting his jacket on.  
“OR,” Happy proposed, “YOU could go get me fish, and I can keep Ashley company.”  
“By ‘keep her company,’ you mean beg her for fish…” Natsu responded, a flat look on his face.  
“FINE! I’ll go! Big meanie,” he pouted, flying downstairs, probably to complain how Natsu was a big meanie to the rest of the kids.   
“Natsu! Let’s go! You’re taking forever!” Parker yelled from downstairs. Everyone else was ready, but Natsu got held up trying to fix his desk full of hunting trophies. One had fallen during the night, and he couldn’t seem to figure out how to get them all back up there.   
“I’m coming! If someone hadn’t knocked over my deer antler, I would’ve been ready an hour ago!” Natsu retorted.  
“I already told you, I didn’t touch your stash, Strawberry Shortcake!” Parker sneered.  
“What’d you say to me, Lemonhead?” Natsu growled pressing his forehead against Parker’s.  
“You heard m-,”   
“That’s enough! Both of you! What did big sister say about getting along!” Cindy scolded trying to separate the brawling brothers.  
“He started it!” Both said at the same time, eyeing each other.  
“Both of you be quiet and let’s go! The river won’t come to us!”  
That seemed to calm them down, and the 4 kids and their flying cat headed off to the woods. It was about an hour and a half walk in the opposite direction of where Natsu usually found his prey, so he had only stumbled across it by accident a few months ago.

[Flashback]

“I swear there’s nothing out here! I’ve been looking for hours!” Natsu grumbled, heading back home from hunting. It was the first time in a while, but he came up empty handed this time, not able to find anything. He was so frustrated he completely passed the village, lost in a sea of frustrated thoughts. Half an hour later, he realized that he didn’t really know where he was, but he thought he smelled fresh water in the distance.  
“Is that… a river?” he questioned, sniffing the air several times. He took off, trying to see if his hypothesis was right, and about 20 minutes later he found it. A big freshwater river, that looked perfect to cool down in.  
“AWESOME!” He shouted, immediately jumping in the water. It felt great, he spent the entire day trudging around the forest, and was finally able to relax. “I can’t wait to tell the others! We can spend days here, just hanging out and swimming!”  
After about an hour there, he started the trek back, using a little bit of fire magic to burn away some of the access brush, trying to make the path to the river more noticeable. After about an hour, he got back to the village, excited to tell everyone about the river he found.  
“I’M BAACKK!!” Natsu announced, walking in the door.  
“Where have you been? You’re late!” Ashley scolded, hurrying over to make sure he was ok. In all the months he’d been doing this, she never quite got over being nervous at sending the young boy into the forest alone to hunt.   
“Well I couldn’t find anything, so I accidentally walked past the village.” He explained. “Then, I smelled fresh water, so I followed it and I found this super cool river! I even made a path on the way back. Tomorrow can we all go swimming?”   
“A river huh? Well, that’s interest- Hey! Don’t change the subject! You need to be back here before sundown! You can’t run off exploring! What if you got lost or hurt?”  
“I’ll be fine! Trust me! But now you’re the one changing the subject! I made sure there was a path so everyone can follow it, and it should only take a little over an hour! I was much faster, but since we’ll have to bring stuff with us, and Cindy is slow, it might take longer.”  
“(sigh…) Alright, tomorrow we can take another look, BUT! Next time you go out, you WILL be on time. Is that understood?” she glared at him.  
“O-of course…” Natsu sweatdropped. That evil glare never stopped terrifying the children, and she used that fact to her advantage whenever she needed to.   
“Very well. Now, come get something to eat. You must be starved.”

[Flashback End]

“I’ll race you the rest of the way, Blondie!” Natsu challenged.  
“You’re on, Lizard Breath!” Parker retorted and the two raced down the path, leaving Cindy and Treya in the dust.  
“Those two idiots can never stop running around.” Cindy grumbled.  
Treya just giggled and continued walking with Cindy. In about 10 minutes they had met up with the boys at the river who were already trying to drown each other in the water, fighting about who won the race.  
“One of these days…” Cindy grumbled, getting the basket the boys had placed by the water and started to spread the food out.  
“Come on guys, let’s eat! I’m starving!” Treya shouted to the boys, still engaged in a friendly game of river murder.  
“Aye!” said Happy, who had flown off Treya’s head and over to his fishing rod, getting ready to catch his own lunch.  
Hearing food, the two boys immediately untangled themselves and got out of the water, Natsu drying the two off as soon as they were out.  
“You’re still using him as a clothes dryer?” Cindy asked, raising her eyebrow and the two boys’ antics.  
“Only thing he’s good for, might as well use it.” Parker replied.  
“Says the person who managed to lose all the rabbit meat I trusted him to hold on to.” Natsu scoffed sitting down on the picnic blanket.  
“ONE TIME!” Parker shouted, grumbling as he sat down.  
The two were bitter rivals, but the four of them got along great, like a big family, and with the addition of Happy, it got even better.  
“Ya’ know, I could stay like this forever.” Treya said, laying back on the ground. “Even you two idiots bickering can’t ruin it.”  
“HEY!” The two shouted, earning giggles from both girls.   
All four of them just laid back, watching the cloud, talking, and laughing at Happy’s inability to catch a fish. After a while they went swimming, Natsu almost succeeding in drowning Parker only to find himself with a face full of water courtesy of Cindy, who just laughed at his shocked expression. This of course, led to an all out water war, while Happy yelled at them about scaring away all of his precious fishies. This was the life they wanted, it didn’t matter that they were orphans, they had each other and they had the village. That was all they needed.   
“I think we should start heading back, it’ll be dark soon.” Treya said, standing up and stretching.   
“Yeah, you’re probably right. Natsu! Parker! Stop killing each other, and come carry the stuff back!” Cindy shouted.  
“Ok!” The boys shouted, once again getting out of the river and starting their strange drying ritual, Natsu heating up his body and standing near Parker for a few minutes.  
They packed up all the stuff, called to Happy who was still grumbling about not catching any yummy fishies, and headed back to the town.   
They were about five minutes away from the town, when Natsu heard something and stopped them.  
“Natsu? What’s wrong?” Treya asked, eyeing him questionably.  
“I don’t know, somethings happening.” Natsu said, rapidly sniffing the air and adjusting his ears, trying to pick up any indication of what was going on. “Follow me and stick close. Happy? If something is happening, you need to be ready to fly anyone who’s in trouble away.”  
“Aye, sir!” Happy responded, giving a salute.  
This was too serious to be a joke. Natsu never joked about smells before, and nothing had ever put him on edge since he got to town, so they all were quite nervous and stayed close, Treya hiding behind Natsu and Cindy behind Parker.   
(BOOOOM)  
“AHHHHHHHHH!”   
The group heard a loud explosion from the town, as well as people screaming. Something was definitely wrong.  
“What’s happening? Even I heard that!” Treya said, tightly gripping Natsu’s shirt from behind.  
“I don’t know, you guys stay here, I’ll go look.” Natsu said, taking Treya off him and turning to run to the village.  
“Not a chance, Hothead. If there’s something wrong, we’re coming too. We all live there together, I’m not putting you in danger alone.” Parker said, gripping Natsu’s shoulder.  
“That’s right! It’s our home!” Cindy insisted standing with Parker.  
“Fine, but if anything as dangerous as it sounds is going on, you all run away, got it?” Natsu relented.  
“Aye, Sir!” they all responded.  
The group ran into the village, and stopped in front of it. Looks of sheer horror were painted across their faces. The houses were all on fire, smoke was everywhere. There was blood painted on the walls, and what looked to be a cloaked army marching through the streets. None of them could even move, it was so terrifying.  
“LEAVE ME ALONE! AHHHHH!”   
The scream shocked them out of their momentary stupor.  
“BIG SIS!” Cindy screamed sprinting towards Ashley, who was currently being dragged across town by her hair.  
“NO, CINDY! RUN! RUN AWAY!” Ashley screamed, trying to struggle free of the man’s grip.   
“There are 4 more and… what is that? That looks like a cat? Whatever, BOSS! MORE KIDS OVER HERE!” The man shouted. “Quit struggling, broad.” he sneered, kicking her in the stomach.  
Another man walked over. He had dark red hair set in a ponytail, worse purple robes, and carried a red staff topped with a black dragon that had blue markings on its wings.   
“Kill them. We just need the village. No survivors! Is that clear?”  
“Sir!” responded the man.  
“LET HER GO!” The kids roared, and charged the man that had Ashley by the hair.  
“No! Run! Please! Leave me and run!” Ashley pleaded, tears streaming down her face.  
“FIRE DRAGON’S ROAAAAAAAAAAR!” Natsu screamed, releasing a torrent of fire from his mouth straight at the robed man.   
“AGHHHHHH!” he screamed letting go of Ashley, and rolling on the ground.  
“KIDS!” She shouted, and ran over to them embracing them in a tight hug. “We need to run, I don’t know if we have any more time left.”   
“Not so fast there, woman.” The man with the staff halted them, and suddenly they were totally surrounded. “You there, young boy. What’s your name?”  
“What’s it to you, ya’ wrinkly old geezer! Get out of my village!”  
“Oh ho ho ho! Feisty one this is! You wouldn’t happen to be a dragon slayer now, would you?”  
“And so what if I am?”  
“Well now, we may be in for a little negotiation. Tell you what, you join Nightwing and we’ll let your little friends go. Sound like a fair deal?”  
“Not a chance, purple prick! You better stay out the fire, or you’re gonna get burned!” Natsu retorted, igniting each of his hands, and getting ready to fight.   
“Very well then child. Looks like we’ll have to do this, the hard way. MEN! KILL THEM ALL!” He shouted, earning a cheer from the rest of the hooded men, each of them charging forward with their spears.   
“I’ll clear a path, you guys need to run! Get out of here! FIRE DRAGON’S WING ATTACK!” he shouted, clearing a path towards the way they came. “Now let’s go! Hurry!”   
“Not so fast! SHADE MAGIC: TROOPERS!” He shouted, summoning a few dozen shade troops to chase them.  
“Not a chance! FIRE DRAGON’S ROOAAAAAR!” Natsu shouted, engulfing the magic in flames. It wasn’t nearly enough, as when the flames were gone there were still over a dozen soldiers left. He was charged by 3 robed men with spears, trying to run him through. He got nicked a few times on the arms and legs dodging them, while returning fire with a series of flaming punches and kicks. One of them managed to catch his right eye, barely avoiding blinding him, but leaving a deep vertical cut overtop of it.   
“AAAAAAAAHHHH!”   
“CINDY! NO!” Parker yelled, running towards the man who grabbed Cindy.   
“Quiet brat!” the mage yelled, slamming his elbow into the girl's head, knocking her out.  
“CINDY!!!” he yelled again. “Keaugh…”  
Right before he reached her, another man stabbed him through the back with his spear, and Parker fell on his knees, coughed up some blood, and collapsed on the ground.  
“PARKER!” Ashley screamed, taking her eyes off running, just long enough for a shade troop to grab her and throw her back towards the man with the staff.  
“NO! ASHLEY!” Natsu shouted. He fell on his knees holding his head in his hands, watching as the man cast a spell from his staff, blowing her up right before his eyes. It was happening again. Again. They were dying. Again. His family was being taken away from him right before his eyes. Again. He was powerless to stop them. He didn’t even feel the pain from the blast before getting knocked to the ground.  
“This all could have been avoided if you had just agreed to my demands, boy. A pity to waste-” was all he heard from the staffed man before falling unconscious. 

[Several Hours Later]

“Ugh, my head…” Natsu groaned struggling to sit up. “Where am I?” he wondered aloud, looking around. All he could see was Happy sitting nearby, crying his eyes out. All of a sudden the memories came rushing back. The fire. The smoke. Parker getting stabbed. Ashley blowing up. A sharp pain over his right eye. A man talking to him, and then darkness.  
“HAPPY!” he shouted, startling the cat. “What happened? Where are we? WHERE ARE THE OTHERS??”   
“Natsu… they’re...gone…” the cat cried, barely able to talk between tears and gasping breath. “I was...only able… to save you… they killed them… It was horrible…”   
Natsu was stunned into silence. Again. They were taken. Everything was rushing back to his head. The roar of Acnologia. The blood soaked pile that was his father. The flames and smoke of Rösch. Again. It happened again. The blood of his past stained him again. Fate declined any family he could have, and kept him from it. It was almost as if the gods were punishing him for his mere existence.  
“I… did it again… I failed them…” he whispered. “I failed them again… I didn’t even try… I was… too stunned… I couldn’t think…” He could barely breathe, he could barely think. Just remembering the smell was enough. He immediately was sick, keeling over and hurling the contents of his stomach on the ground. He put his hand to his right eye and held it in front of his face. It was covered in blood. He finally realized where they were, and crawled over to the river that earlier that day he had been so happily playing around in and looked at his reflection. Just akin to the scar over his left eye, he had another scar over his right, through smaller, it was deep. Once again, he was lucky to be alive, let alone if he would be able to use the eye when he could actually open it up again.   
‘It’s time…’ he thought to himself. ‘My purpose is clear. I must kill him. The world beneath my feet shall burn until he dies. Should the gods themselves stand in my way, let them be enveloped by my father’s flames.’  
That day, staring at himself in the water, something snapped inside him. Natsu would never be the same person after. He accepted the world through a new lense, and the lense was that of a burning wasteland, where the strong survive by either purging or protecting the weak. He washed the blood off his eye, shed his clothes and stepped into the water. He cleaned off the various cuts and bruises he had, ripping his vest apart for bandages, cauterizing the cut over his eye. It was time. The world created him for a purpose. The world gave him power for a purpose, and every time he put that purpose aside for something else the world took it from him. It was time.  
“Happy…” he said flatly, turning to the cat.  
“(sniff) What are we gonna do, Natsu…” he whimpered.  
“It’s time I fulfill the purpose I was put into this world for.” He stepped out of the water igniting himself in the royal white flames of igneel, and prepared to set out. The look in his eye was terrifying but empty. Full of rage and sorrow. He lost the first battles, but they were tests. He would not make the same mistake again. The war had begun, and the world beneath his feet would never cease to burn until that war was won.


	4. The Fourth

[The Village of Rösch X780]

“NATSU! STOP IT! YOU’VE GONE TOO FAR!” Happy screamed.  
“It’s not… It’s not enough… What they’ve done… It’s too easy for them…”   
“SNAP OUT OF IT!” Happy shouted, flying full speed and crashing into him. He hit the ground hard, seemingly snapping him out of his daze.   
“What… happened…”  
“It’s over, Natsu… it’s over…” he whispered, as Natsu keeled over asleep, never noticing one man running for his very life away from the monster he just witnessed.

[Three Years Prior]

“What… (sniff) what do you mean by that?” Happy whimpered, almost terrified of the look in Natsu’s eye. He’d never seen something like that before. He’d never heard Natsu say anything about a purpose.  
“It’s time you learn, Happy, who I am and why I’m here. It’s time I accepted it…” he said.  
Natsu started by telling Happy his story. His life with dragons, and how they were slaughtered in front of him. How he wandered, wondering what his life’s purpose was and what his father’s wish meant.  
“I know now, Happy. I exist to kill Acnologia. His existence has taken everything from me. It’s time I return the favor.”  
“But Natsu! That’s not possible! If even Igneel couldn’t do it, how are you supposed to! Do you even know where he is?” Happy was astonished. The gentle, happy-go-lucky person that was his best friend and father figure was just empty. His past was darker than he could have ever imagined, and while he truly felt for Natsu, there was nothing that could be done.  
“I don’t know where to find him...And even if I did find him, he’d kill me…” Natsu answered, gazing at the ground.  
Happy seemed to think that was progress, so he flew over to Natsu, buried his head in his chest, and asked, “So what are we going to do Natsu?”  
“I’m going to train… I’m going to get stronger… Every day the fire that burns inside of me will grow until I find that menace of a creature. Judgement will land upon him. I swear on the grave of me and my fathers, Acnologia shall die by my hand.”  
Happy’s eyes grew wide as he realized the depth of what was happening. “Will that really make you happy, Natsu? It won’t bring them back…”  
“I know that… Igneel used to tell me... that we can’t change the past, but we can live on for those who couldn’t make it to the future. For his wish, his future he couldn’t reach, I will live on. Will you come with me, Happy? This is for my fathers and our friends from Rösch. This is my life’s purpose. The next few years are going to be hell, but I need this. My life means nothing if I can’t do what I exist to do.” Natsu was whispering now, the reality of what he was suggesting was overwhelming, but he knew it was true. He wanted to go alone, fate took too many things from him for him to trust they wouldn’t be taken again, but he needed Happy with him. To keep him tethered to earth. To keep him from himself.  
Happy thought for a moment. He knew this was wrong. Vengeance didn’t solve anything. But he couldn’t leave Natsu. Natsu needed someone with him, someone to share the burden of what happened. To cry with him, and to force him to keep walking. It also made a lot of sense. If Igneel’s wish was really to get rid of Acnologia, and he ceded that responsibility to Natsu, his quest was understandable and necessary. Right? But if that was the case, why was he getting such an eerie feeling from Natsu?  
“I...I will, Natsu. Just...just promise me something.”  
“Name it.”  
“Don’t lose yourself to this...I need a Natsu in my life...”  
Natsu chuckled at this, and ruffled Happy’s fur.  
“Of course. That’s what you’re here for!”  
“Aye, sir!” he exclaimed, finally feeling a little better.  
Neither were healed yet, physically or mentally, from what just happened, but Natsu found his purpose, and Happy would be willing to follow him through the seventh circle of hell if it meant keeping him from losing himself. They decided to spend the night there, resting and recovering, before setting out the next day. The journey had begun, a journey passed down to him by two flames.

[1 Year Later - Tempest Guild Hall]

Late one evening, a young man opened the doors to a relatively small building. It seemed more like a bar than anything, but it had quite a few people in it. Several people were passed out by the bar, the rest of them were drunk or getting there. In the corner there was a group of people playing cards, in the other corner was what sounded like a meeting of some sort, their talk exclusively whispers. Almost dead center of the room sat 4 men, one of them was enormously muscular. He was bald, had a scar on his right cheek, and wore a shirt with a skull on it. He sat casually smoking a cigarette as the young man entered the room.  
“Looks like we have company, eh? What’s your name kid? You lookin’ for mommy or somethin’?”  
The other 3 men at the table laughed, but the young man ignored them. None of them could see the hooded man’s face, or really any part of him. Just the outline of what appeared to be a male, maybe a little over 5 feet tall, and he wore a dark cloak covering every part of him.  
“Hey, shortstack! I asked you a question? You gonna answer, or are we gonna have to make things-”  
“Silence yourself, meathead. I’m not here for you,” the figure replied. His voice wasn’t deep, or menacing, but there was something about it that was...threatening...  
A hush swept over the room. Everyone eyed each other nervously. This guy had to be out of his mind. Tempest may have been a relatively new and small time dark guild, but it was ruthless nonetheless, and they had started to get a reputation. None were known more than that very muscular man, who went by the moniker ‘The Viking’, for strength and brutality. Even the guild master himself, known only as ‘Dragon’, was afraid of The Viking. No one messed with him for fear of his wrath. After a few moments the whispers started, each and every word heard by the cloaked man.  
“Is he out of his mind?”  
“He looks like a kid!”  
“Does he even know who that is?”  
“Even I feel for that guy, he’s gonna be in a world of hurt.”  
“Oh, but of course, kid. Where are my manners?” The muscular man stood up, and spoke. “My name, well that’s not important. You can just call me... The Viking.”   
“I told you once, I’m not here for you.”  
“Well maybe, you’ll just have to be taught a lesson, in MANNERS,” The Viking shouted, kicking the table out of his way and throwing a punch at the cloaked figure. The punch was full of power. The Viking was a master of hand-to-hand combat, and he used his magic to make his strikes immensely powerful. When the dust settled, the entire guild gasped.  
“HE CAUGHT IT?”  
“I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW THAT WAS POSSIBLE!”  
“Not bad kid, but yo-AGHHHHHHGHH!!!” as soon as it had begun, it was over. The Viking erupted into white flames and fell down, covered in burns.  
“I will ask you this one time.” the cloaked figure said, without moving his head to look at the stunned members of Tempest. “Where is the man who goes by the name ‘Dragon’?”  
There were several moments of silence, no one quite knew what to do. Their strongest member, Viking, known for his strength and brutality, was just taken down in one shot.   
“Who wants to know, punk? Get out of out- AGHHHHHH!” a second man that had been sitting near Viking erupted in orange flames, meeting the same fate as the first.   
“I asked a question, and I do not intend to ask again.” the cloaked man growled.  
“HEY! GET HIM!”  
“IT’S OUR ENTIRE GUILD AGAINST SOME KID! JUST KILL HIM!”  
Shouts of agreement rang out, as members pulled out swords and daggers charging the cloaked young man.  
“Such foolishness… Fire Dragon’s BLAST WAVE,” he announced, pressing his palms together, orange flames erupting from all round him, taking out nearly every member at once. The guild hall was shaking, scorch marks covered the walls and floor. The cloaked figure approached one of the men who was mildly burnt, but managed to protect himself for the most part, staying conscious.   
“Now, because I’m a nice guy I will repeat myself. Where. Is. Dragon?” he growled. The man being held was trembling in terror, he could see the burning eyes of a beast, each had a vertical scar over top of them and looked to be almost alive.   
“He’s… upstairs… just… just let me go… please…” the man whimpered, terrified of the beast that held him.  
“Now see, was that so difficult? Mind if I make a suggestion?” The cloaked man seemed almost amused.  
“Ser-seriously?”   
“Work on your hospitality,” and he dropped him walking up the stairs to this so-called Dragon.   
“WHAT IS GOING ON- What on earth-land?” His voice went from a shout, to a whisper. This new figure came out of an upstairs room. He was an average looking man, not big and muscular, but not frail either. Not too tall and not too short. He wore a dark suit and had short black hair. As he exited, he noticed his entire guild down for the count, the members smoking and groaning in pain. As he turned his head, he saw one figure approaching him.  
“Who are y-” he couldn’t even finish the sentence before the cloaked man knocked him unconscious with a blow to the temple.  
“Idiots…” the cloaked man said, hoisting the man known as ‘Dragon’ on his shoulders, and exiting the guild. Walking through the guild he noticed one of the men that had been sitting near Viking trying to stand.  
“Who-who are you?” he managed to get out.  
The cloaked man walked to the entrance and knelt down. Igniting his hand in white flames, he burned the mark of a crown on the ground, and walked away.

[Several Hours Later]

“Natsu, I really don’t think we should be doing this.” A small, blue cat was speaking to a cloaked man as they walked through the forest away from a seemingly deserted town.  
“It’s a good way to train, and we need the jewels.” Natsu replied, though somewhere in his mind, he agreed.  
“Destroying dark guilds? Bounty hunting? This is a bad business, Natsu. It’s dangerous.”  
“I know, that’s why I don’t take you with me.” he replied simply.  
The cat sighed, and shook his head. He knew they shouldn’t be doing this. They had just left a rendezvous location with a man that placed a bounty on the capture of another man named ‘Dragon’. He offered one million jewels to anyone bringing him in alive, and wouldn’t pay if he was dead. Apparently, Dragon got his nickname due to the amount of dark guilds he started. His reach was so wide, it was thought of as a massive pair of wings, hence the name ‘Dragon.’ In fairness, most of them failed rather quickly, but Dragon was never caught, and thus built quite a network in the underground.   
“Look, Happy, I know what you think. But it’s honestly not so bad. It’s not totally illegal to go bounty hunting if we don’t kill anyone. Besides, that guy was a jerk anyway. Have you heard of what he does? All his guilds specialize in torture and thievery, they rob merchants, kidnap and torture people they think have knowledge about places they want to steal from, and then steal from those places. We did a big favor to Ishgar by having him locked up.”  
“I know Natsu. We had this discussion before. I just...” Happy sighed, and ceased his complaints.  
The two continued walking, Natsu with a blank mind, and Happy wondering if Natsu truly would fall off soon.  
“Thanks, Happy.”  
“What for?” the cat asked, confused.  
“For being here. I-I don’t think I could still- I couldn’t go on if I lost you too… Thank you.”  
“I’ll follow you forever Natsu, you know that.” Happy replied, glad to hear some resemblance of the old Natsu back.  
This practice continued for two years, Natsu would train in forests and mountains, as far away from people as possible, and every month or so, when they ran out of the few jewels they actually spent, they would go to a place called a ‘bounty office.’ They were normally found in seemingly abandoned and run down buildings, and few people were ever seen in or around them. They listed known criminals, what they had done, what the buyer wanted done with them and/or their associates, and the amount being paid. One thing Happy made sure of, and Natsu agreed willingly, was that they took no assassination requests. They destroyed guilds, captured guild members, had masters arrested, and destroyed buildings, but they never killed... At least not intentionally. Some of the members of the guilds they were hired to destroy might have died from the amount of flames he used, but he never stuck around to find out. The process was repetitive. Find a request for either a dark guild destruction or a dark guild member/master capture, enter the guild, destroy it, take the captive if necessary, and walk out, the only trace he left was a crown he emblazoned with white flames at the entrance of every guild. Happy would accompany Natsu to the outskirts of town, before finding a location to hide and wait for his return. He didn’t particularly like being left behind, but it was necessary. Happy was too recognizable, even with a disguise. A talking blue cat was hard to cover up. So he relented after reasoning that if Natsu wanted to maintain secrecy, Happy would only be seen with him when he wasn’t on a job. Luckily, they rarely needed jobs, so Happy wasn’t constantly alone, and he even trained with Natsu sometimes, developing his strength to easily carry about ‘one-and-a-half Natsu’s’ as Happy put it, and able to reach a ‘max speed’ for almost 5 minutes, which would cover the distance between towns if necessary. It had been 2 years since the first request, and 3 years since the destruction of Rösch, when Natsu stumbled across a request to capture a man named Barreth Porla.  
Barreth Porla: WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE  
Crimes: Mass Muder, Arson, Establishment of at least 3 dark guilds, and Theft  
Leads: Believed to reside in Shadowstep Guild Hall  
Reward: 5 million jewels  
‘Hmmm,’ Natsu thought. ‘The pay is good, and it’s definitely an accomplishable task. Walk in, get the information, get the target, and walk out. It should be simple! So why do I feel so uneasy...’  
He decided to take the request anyways, exiting the office without a trace of ever being there. After about 15 minutes, he caught up with Happy.  
“Another one?” Happy asked, grimly.  
“Hey come on, don’t be like that! This is a big one, 5 million! We won’t need to do another one for at least a few months! Plus, they don’t care if he lives or not, so even if he pulls the same thing the last guy did we still get paid.”  
“You shouldn’t be so happy about that, Natsu…” Happy frowned. The previous request they had gone on only about 3 weeks ago. The request should have been big, about 2 million jewels, but the request was specifically asking for him alive, and the pay would be cut to 500,000 if he turned up dead. They caught him alive, but somehow just before they got to the collection rendezvous, the guy woke up, bit through the ropes, and killed himself. That should have been a shocking experience, but Natsu was a hardened warrior. After witnessing the deaths of people whom he loved dearly, the death of one he didn’t care for didn’t phase him. He was just disappointed that the reward would be cut. He apologized to the client, but unfortunately that didn’t change anything, so he got short-changed hard. This time, however, on the off-chance that it happened again, they’d still be paid in full.  
“I never said I was happy about it. I don’t want to kill them, but I take comfort in knowing that they aren’t a threat to anyone else anymore. It’s how I deal with it…” he muttered the last part.  
Happy knew it wasn’t easy on him. Happy had always known that this path was wrong, but couldn’t really do much about it. He convinced himself, like Natsu had, that they were ridding the world of evil, so even though they were hurting people en mass, it was ok. And, it paid the bills extremely well. A bounty hunter as skilled as Natsu was not someone to be messed with in terms of earnings. Had he been full time, he’d be filthy rich, especially considering that they rarely spent any of the cash. Honestly, they made so much, that Natsu started saving most of it without saying anything to Happy. He had about 5 million jewels hidden away in a forest outside of a town called Magnolia that they had passed on their way to a job.   
“Shadowstep… I don’t know why but this request feels different… Have we heard that name before? It doesn’t sound familiar, but it makes me uneasy.”  
“No, I don’t think so. Are you sure you want to do this? Maybe it’s a sign.”  
“Don’t be so superstitious, I’m sure I’ll be fine.”  
So they continued, eventually coming to a town known as Violet. They stopped in the forest just outside the town. It looked like any other town with a dark guild, no one out in the open, the only building with people in it was a pub, and the doors and windows were shut and locked tight.  
“I’ll be back in a bit, Happy. Wait here.”  
“Natsu,” Happy added tentatively.  
“What is it?”  
“Be careful on this one… Please…”  
Natsu gave a grin, donned his cloak and set out for Shadowstep. The town was quiet as a ghost. All eyes were on him, the mysterious hooded figure approaching a large building with dark spectres painted on it and a sign in large, black lettering that said ‘SHADOWSTEP.’  
‘This is all so normal,’ he thought as he approached the guild hall. ‘Why do I have this feeling? Right, whatever. Focus. I have a job to do.’ He took a deep breath, and opened the door.  
This place looked and smelled terrible. On the outside it looked like a building of mighty warriors, walls of stone and wood, a mountainous structure, but on the inside it was worse than a ratty pub. Booze, dirt, blood, and every other substance you could think of was on the floor. The bar was overcrowded, and everyone who wasn’t at the bar was in a circle at the far side of the room, cheering and betting on the winner of two large men with knives stabbing at each other. He wasn’t sure if it was truly a fight to the death, but they looked angry. As per usual, after taking a few steps, eyes started to drift towards him, the unknown cloaked figure entering foreign territory. He decided once again that he would not harm anyone who brought forth information willingly. So, he stopped in the middle of the room, nearly every pair of eyes, including the two that had been previously fighting, locked on him. He kept his gaze straight forward, both eyes closed, focusing entirely on sound.  
“I am feeling quite reasonable today, but even reasonable men have patience limits. I would like to ask for information, perhaps this can be civil? There really is no need to resort to violence, especially between guildmates,” he added, nodding slightly towards the two that had been previously fighting.  
Immediately the room erupted in laughter, no one could believe a five-foot something pipsqueak in a cloak would walk into the guild hall of SHADOWSTEP and demand information, especially in such a way.  
“SURE THING KID!”  
“WHAT, YOU MISSING YOUR MOM AND DAD? WANT US TO HELP YOU LOOK?”  
“WE DON’T HAVE ANY CANDY PIPSQUEAK!”  
The room continued to laugh for another two minutes, before they all noticed that the cloaked figure hadn’t moved a single inch.  
“Now, I’m going to ask this once, and once only. You seem to lack not only dignity and reason, but also creativity, so I will keep this short and simple. Where is Barreth Porla? Is he or isn’t he in this building, and if he is not where can I find him?”  
“This hotshot is looking for Barreth? He’s gotta be joking!”  
“Yeah, right kid. Like we’d tell you where he is!”  
Once again laughter rang out from all ends of the room, except for one man. That man happened to be the barkeeper, and his eyes widened with realization.  
“Go home kid! If you’re not gone in 10 seconds, you’re dead meat!”  
“Wait, I think I kno-” the barkeep tried to explain.  
“Shut it barkeep, or I’ll knock you out too!”  
“I don’t think you understand, this guy is-”  
“Did you hear me!”  
The man was glaring at the guy behind the bar, arm flexed and ready to strike.  
Natsu sighed, and stretched his arms slightly, before spreading them straight out to the sides.  
“What utter foolishness…” he muttered. “Fire Dragon’s BLAST WAVE!” he shouted as he brought his two palms together. Scorching hot orange flames jetted out from under him, shooting out in all directions. Instantly, around half the guild was on the ground smoking, but this was no small time guild, there were formidable members who blocked the fire, burned and shocked, but definitely not down for the count.  
“Now that I’ve added some minor persuasion, perhaps I can get information. This will be the last time I ask, and you’re lucky I feel reasonable. Where can I find a man by the name of Barreth Porla?”  
The barkeeper managed to duck below the blast before it was released, as he knew what was coming. He recognized this guy. Dark guilds knew bounty hunters, and this guy was one of the most well known out of all of them. A short, cloaked man would enter a dark guild, walk until he arrived at the center and demanded information. If he was not given information immediately, he would unleash a torrent of flames, destroying everything around him, and nearly killing the weaker members. Anyone strong enough to survive the first wave and anyone stupid enough to attack him directly would be hit with a glowing white fire, while the initial clearing blast was a scorching orange. He’d get his information or his target and leave. The guild would be in shambles if standing, the members would almost all be unconscious, some barely alive, and the only thing he left would be the scorched picture of a crown. The few who saw him create it all said the same thing. Before leaving, he would kneel by the entrance, his hand would light up with white fire, and he would press it to the ground, before standing and walking away.  
The barkeep once again tried to warn them, but they wouldn’t listen.  
“GUYS! I’M TELLING YOU I KNOW-”  
“WHAT THE HELL IS THIS GUY DOING??”  
“KILL HIM!!”  
Once again, Natsu sighed. Couldn’t they be reasonable for once? Dark guilds weren’t even a challenge for him anymore, big meat head tries for a right hook, which he blocks and ignites the man in white flames. The rest would seem caught off guard, but for some reason keep going. He’d cast an area of effect spell, his personal favorites being blast wave and roar, knocking out everyone. He’d find anyone still conscious, get his information, and leave. It was almost boring.  
“Unbelievable.... You are all the same…” Natsu muttered, before pretty much exactly what he thought would happen, happened. He blocked the muscly guy and enveloped him in white flames. This time, during the pause, he spoke. “Hey barkeep! I got questions for ya! Keep your head down!”  
The barkeep widened his eyes, and immediately ducked and covered his head.  
Natsu inhaled and took a stance, leaving his left hand flat pointed to the floor and his right flat and pointed to the ceiling. “O’ flames that burn white with holy light, let yourself be free. White Fire Dragon King’s FLAMING TWISTER!” he shouted, flames from his right hand pouring out to meet those of his left hand, creating a massive tornado of white fire. He canceled the spell seconds after casting, trying to prevent needless deaths, but the damage was still immense. The guild hall was unrecognizable. Everyone was unconscious and smoking, some who were too close would be lucky to survive the encounter. Natsu walked over to the barkeep slowly, who was still trembling, but not burnt too badly thanks to Natsu’s warning.  
“Now, you know my question, and I do not wish to repeat myself. I do not plan on leaving without information.”  
“He-he’s in a village East of here. He stays there almost all the time, I swear!” The barkeep was stuttering and sweating profusely, whether from the heat or his menacing aura, he couldn’t be sure.  
“WHERE?” Natsu demanded.  
“Uh, uh… it’s called… R something… Row? Raltz? Rösch! It’s called Rösch! He’s the master of the guild there! I swear! It’s called, um dark or night? Nightwing! It’s called Nightwing! Please don’t kill me!”  
“Rösch…” Natsu growled. His fury was almost visible as he turned and left, only stopping briefly to kneel on the ground. The barkeep knew for absolute certainty now. The cloaked man stopped at the entrance, or what was left of it, placed a white burning hand on the ground, and stood up and left. This really was him…

[Several Hours Later - Shadowstep Guildhall Remains]

“Oh god, what just happened,” one of the men waking up groaned. “My whole body feels like it’s on fire.”  
All that could be heard were moans of pain, and the smell of burnt flesh was everywhere. The barkeep walked up to him with a bag of ice. “It was him…” he whispered  
The man’s eyes widened. “You don’t mean…”  
“Yeah,” the barkeep responded, handing him the ice. “The White Crown.”

[Natsu’s Location, 20 minutes after leaving Shadowstep]

“Happy!” he shouted.  
“You’re back! Thank goodness! Was it ok? I don’t see anyone with you?” Happy questioned, still extremely worried about the mission that made him feel uneasy.  
“I’m fine, they were pushovers. I figured out why that request made me feel so uneasy…” Natsu responded, his eyes nearly burning the ground in rage.  
“Natsu? What’s wrong?”  
“Barreth Porla… Leader of the dark guild Nightwing… Established and currently working out of a small village in Eastern Ishgar…”  
Happy’s eyes grew huge, and he could taste Natsu’s fury. “Y-you don’t mean…”  
“The town of Rösch…” As soon as their eyes met, Happy knew this was bad. He wanted revenge just as much as Natsu did, but he also knew that Natsu was playing a dangerous game. There was no talking him out of this one.  
“This is not good…” Happy muttered to himself, so low even Natsu didn’t hear it, but that might be because of how loud the rage in his mind was.  
It was a 3 day journey to Rösch from Violet. The two barely spoke more than a few words to each other the entire trip, which never happened. Even after the previous mission, after the man had killed himself, they were relatively chatty. Happy was the only family Natsu had that hadn’t been killed in front of his eyes, and Natsu was the same for Happy. They spoke to no one but each other, yet still always talked. This was different. This was rage. The earth itself seemed terrified of what was to come.  
They reached the river where Natsu had escaped following the destruction of Rösch. Natsu gazed into the same waters he had looked into 3 years ago.

[Flashback]

‘It’s time…’ he thought to himself. ‘My purpose is clear. I must kill him. The world beneath my feet shall burn until he dies. Should the gods themselves stand in my way, let them be enveloped by my father’s flames.’  
“It’s time I fulfill the purpose I was put into this world for.” He stepped out of the water igniting himself in the royal white flames of igneel, and prepared to set out. The look in his eye was terrifying but empty. Full of rage and sorrow. He lost the first battles, but they were tests. He would not make the same mistake again. The war had begun, and the world beneath his feet would never cease to burn until that war was won. 

[Flashback End]

“Natsu,” Happy started, a serious look on his face that Natsu rarely saw. “I’m coming with you this time.”  
“Happy, we’ve gone over-”  
“I’m going with you. This isn’t your fight this time, Natsu. We both need this.” Happy’s tone alone left no room for argument. Natsu would have had to tie him to a tree surrounded by fire to keep him from following, and even then he’d show up anyway.  
“Fine…” Natsu relented. He expected this. Somehow all those years ago, staring at this very lake, he knew. This day would come eventually. Natsu stood up and began walking towards the village.  
“Happy?”  
“What is it, Natsu.”  
“Thank you…”


	5. The Fifth

[Natsu’s Journal - X781]

It was raining that day, I remember clearly. We had been wandering for days. I couldn’t eat. I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t think. I was walking towards Magnolia, that’s all I knew. Darkness flooded my thoughts. ‘Get to Magnolia, find Magnolia.’ It seemed to be an outside force chanting. I couldn’t figure out why I was going there. I thought it must be because of the money I stored there. My time must be up. Give the money to Happy, make sure he finds somewhere to move on, and die. I had no one but Happy. He was the only one to remember me, so it wouldn’t be too bad. I wasn’t dying alone, but I was dying a failure. I was ok with that. I deserved that. We had finally made it to the forest outside of the Magnolia, when he arrived.

[Forests Outside Magnolia - X780]

“Natsu, you need to eat something!” Happy said, trying desperately to feed him.  
“Stop it, Happy. Eat it yourself, I want nothing,” Natsu responded.  
Happy had only been this afraid twice before, unfortunately one of those times was only a few days ago. Natsu looked horrible. He had sustained only one injury, that being a slash from his left hip going to his right shoulder. Most people would have been killed, but that slice killed something else. Since that day Natsu hasn’t eaten or slept once. He only drank at Happy’s insistence. A few more days of this and he was going to die. The mighty Natsu Drakeneel, son of dragons, would die from his own mind and heart giving up on him. The man who had managed to invent his own dragon slayer secret arts out of the royal white flames of Igneel, would die. Well, that’s what Happy thought anyway.  
“Well now, this is a sight you don’t see every day!” A short older man with a white mustache, a funny looking orange hat, and an orange overcoat walked up to them. It was a testament to his exhaustion that Natsu was surprised. Ordinarily, they would have booked it ages ago. No one ever saw them, because Natsu could smell a person a mile away and hear which direction they were going in. This old man just walked right up.  
“Natsu! This proves it! You need to eat! You need sleep!” the blue cat shouted at him.  
“Well, now I’m even more confused. Now tell me young one, are you alright? You look like death!”  
“I’m fine, just go away,” Natsu responded.  
“Natsu! Stop! Please!”  
‘HAPPY!” Natsu shouted. Rarely if ever had he raised his voice at his only friend and family, but he was so far gone he could barely tell up from down anymore.  
“Well now, ordinarily I leave wily ones alone, but you clearly are in need of some assistance. My name’s Makarov Dreyar. Who are you folks?”  
Natsu glanced at the man, and just closed his eyes.  
“Well if you won’t, then I will!” Happy declared turning to the old man. “Please, help him. My name’s Happy and that’s Natsu… Something…happened… He won’t sleep or eat afterwards...I can barely get him to drink...It’s like his heart and mind rejected him, I don’t know how much longer he’ll last. Also loo-”  
“That’s enough, Hap-”  
“NO! NATSU! YOU ARE NOT GOING TO DIE TOO! YOU KNOW HOW IT FEELS TO LOSE EVERYTHING! SO DO I! ARE YOU GOING TO MAKE ME GO THROUGH IT AGAIN?!” At this point, Happy was in tears. Natsu showed the first sign of emotion in days, as he gazed almost apologetically at Happy. That was it, that was all he could take.  
“I-I’m sorry… Happy…” he managed to get out, before passing out.   
“NATSU!”  
“Child! Are you alright, my boy? Speak to me!”

[Porlyusica’s House - 3 hours later]

“Are you sure he’s going to be ok?”  
“Yes! Now quit complaining or I’ll kick you out! I hate humans, don’t make me start hating cats too! I can’t believe I’m letting you both stay in here while the kid sleeps! He must have a death wish, he was knocking heaven’s door, or maybe hell’s door, I don’t know the kid, but he was barely living! That wound was terrible, and he was severely sleep deprived and starving!”  
“I...I know…”  
“Try to relax yourself, Porlyusica. I don’t know who these two are, or what they’ve been through, but I think they need us now.”  
“Hrmmph!” she growled and stomped off, muttering about lousy humans.  
“Mister Makarov, sir?”  
“Just Makarov is fine, no need to be so formal! What’s wrong?”  
“Thank you for helping him…I don’t know... what I’d do... without him.”  
“Of course, young one. It’s not in my nature to ignore those in need, no matter what their past or future holds.”  
Happy smiled, and curled back up next to the sleeping Natsu. The dragons’ son still looked terrible, but Porlyusica had taken care of his cut. She said it was going to leave a nasty scar, and had gotten some sedatives into so he’d stay asleep.  
“Well, young one, I’ll return here tomorrow in the morning. Hopefully I’ll get here before he wakes up. Get some rest, and make sure you stay with him. I think it’ll help,” and with that the old man hopped down from his chair and headed off towards the city.

[The Next Morning]

“He’s been asleep for over 12 hours, are you sure he’s ok?” Happy asked the old lady.  
He learned from Makarov that her name was Porlyusica, and she was a ‘friend’ of his that specializes in healing. It seemed though, that she despised humans, and for some reason that included Happy.  
“Yes! Now be quiet before I kick you out again!” she snapped, before turning and walking away.  
“Don’t let her get you down, young one. She means well.”  
“I sure hope so…”  
“Ughh….” A small groan came from the bed where Natsu was sleeping.  
“NATSU! YOU’RE AWAKE!” he immediately flew into Natsu, tears streaming from his eyes while he nuzzled his chest.  
“I’m alive? Where am I?” Natsu was beyond confused. He was sure he was about to die. Frankly, he deserved it, is what he told himself. It was sad to leave Happy alone, but he could just add that to the list of reasons he deserved to die.  
“Well my boy, good to see you up again!” the old man walked over, hopped up on a chair and gave him a grin.  
“You’re that old man…” he noted, glancing around the room. It was strange, he was lying on the only bed, in what seemed like a one room building. For all he could tell, he was inside a tree. It certainly looked that way. He must really be losing it if he thought he was inside a tree!  
“So, how do you feel.”  
Natsu sat up slowly, wincing from the pain of his chest wound. He flexed his hands a few times, inspected his arms, and made sure everything was still there. But something was wrong.  
“My stuff,” he groaned. If he didn’t feel like he got hit by a dozen magic mobiles, he’d be burning the place down in search of his trophies. “What’d you do with it old man?”  
He chuckled, and gestured over to the table next to him. “All of it’s right there. You have quite the collection there child. Where did you get it all from?”  
Natsu readorned himself with his trophies, inspecting each to make sure nothing had happened. He had upgraded his necklace during the past few years, and it was now made of an extremely rare silver that had been enchanted to be magic resistant. Of course, his own flames didn’t burn it, but other people’s magic could still damage the necklace should they ever land a hit. His earrings were also made of the same metal, but he kept the identical shape, a loop just barely large enough to go from his ear to the scale.  
“The scarf was a gift from my father. I made the rest of them myself,” he replied after finally winning a battle to get the earring back on. He hadn’t taken them off since he changed the metal, so it was definitely a new challenge for him.  
“Well I must say, you do have quite a unique look for someone so young. Your name was Natsu, right?” the old man asked.  
“Yeah, Natsu Drakeneel.” he responded.   
“Well, Natsu, why don’t you explain to me what-”  
“NO!” he shouted suddenly. “No, that’s ok. I don’t want to.”  
“Natsu…” Happy met his gaze. “You need to tell him. You will never heal if you don’t get over this.”  
“I can’t tell him, I can’t tell anyone...Ever...That part of me is dead, somehow the rest of me is still here, but that part died.”  
“If you’re living in denial, I’ll tell him! You would be dead if not for him, Natsu! He deserves to know!”  
“Now, now, no need to fight each other!” Makarov was quite uncomfortable. Somehow the talking blue cat was trying to be the reasonable one, while the older boy was stuck in his mind somewhere. This was certainly a first for him. “He can talk about it when he’s ready.”  
“No he can’t! You need to know, and if he won’t tell you, then-”  
“Fine,” Natsu interrupted.  
“Really?” Happy was shocked, he expected to have to ask Natsu to be sedated so he could get the story out without being set on fire.  
“I’m sorry…” Natsu looked down in shame. He was doing everything wrong. The one family he had left was doing everything in his power to help him, and he was desperately pushing it away. What kind of monster was he?  
“Old man?” Natsu began. This was a hard story to tell, but Happy was right. Living in denial wouldn’t help anything. “Have you heard of a man nicknamed the White Crown?”  
“Hmmm, the White Crown eh? If you ran into him, I’m surprised you aren’t dead! They say he never deliberately kills, but more than a few died accidentally from injuries.”  
“What do you know about him?” Natsu was quite curious about the rumors of his moniker. It was his own fault for branding himself. He never knew exactly why he marked everything, it just felt like he should give a reminder of some sort. ‘What can I say, I love a good trophy,’ he thought to himself.  
“Well my child, let’s think. The stories are all very similar. The council is quite split on whether to try to have him killed or to try to hire him. He does a lot of dirty work. Anyway, he’s a bounty hunter. No one knows what he looks like.” The man scratched his head, trying to remember what they had said about him. “The stories all say something like this. A short man wearing a dark cloak enters the building, demands information, and burns it down when they decline. Some say he uses orange flames, some say they’re white. A few said they saw his eyes, and it was like looking into the eyes of a dragon. After leaving with whatever he came for, he kneels at the door, marks a crown on the ground using a hand emblazoned in a white flame, and then leaves without a trace. Now, then, since you’re asking about him I can only presume that you’ve tussled with the fella? I didn’t know he had a blade, that’s a new discovery for certain! No wonder you don’t want to talk about it!”  
“The White Crown is me…”  
Makarov looked as pale as a ghost, he didn’t think about it at first, but it made sense. His eyes were dark and cold, like a dragon crying in anguish. He remembered a few people said he had near identical scars over each eye, and one claimed he had unique hair but no one else had been able to confirm it. A perfect match.  
“I never meant to kill anyone. I knew a few had died, but I never meant to. I never took assassination requests, if that’s what you’re thinking. Guild destructions and living captures were my specialties.”  
“O-of course, my boy. It just caught me off guard since, you’re… uh…”  
“Young?”  
Makarov just nodded, and Natsu gave a small smile.  
“I figured as much. I’ve been doing this 2 years now, you shoulda seen the faces of people watching a little kid take down their whole guild and walk away with their master.”  
It was disturbing to Makarov. Natsu was clearly trying to brag, or scare him away, but inside the boy was miserable. It seemed as though he knew there were better ways to do what he did, and that he hated what he’d done. They were the eyes of fear and loss, eyes he’d seen before in the eyes of his Fairy Tail children.  
“Well my boy, what happened to you? Since you’re still here, I can’t assume you failed a job.”  
Natsu sighed, glanced at Happy a final time, who nodded, before starting the story. He told Makarov about being raised by Igneel and Draco, and them being killed in front of him. He told him about living in Rösch and his new family being killed again. He told him about how he got into bounty hunting, and then the information from Shadowstep. And finally, he began the story of what happened before meeting Makarov.  
“It was I think 3 days ago, in my old village called Rösch…

[Flashback: Rösch - 3 days prior]

“What are you thanking me for?” Happy asked.  
“The same thing I thanked you for 2 years ago when we started this hell of a life.”  
“Oh…”  
It was an hour later when they reached the village gates. Natsu long since donned his cloak of black, his mind fueled more and more by rage the closer to the village he got. The information was right, he remembered the smell. That ugly bastard who took his siblings from him. He could smell him here. The guild hall ahead was the largest dark guild hall he’d ever seen, in front of it were several guards holding the same spears that killed Parker 3 years ago.  
“Calm down, Natsu. It’s gonna be ok…” Happy could feel his rage, it was nearly palpable.  
“I know Happy... I think I can do this...Just keep an eye out for me…” he whispered the last part.  
“Aye, sir!” Happy replied, playfully, finally lightening the mood a bit.  
They began walking towards the hall. Happy was in Natsu’s hood, hanging from his left shoulder to keep out of view.   
“Halt! Who goes there!” shouted one of the guards, aiming his spear at Natsu.  
Natsu glanced at each guard, eyeing them up.  
“Hey! I asked you a-”  
Natsu grabbed the spear, yanked the guard forward, and headbutted him, knocking him out instantly.  
“Hey! Who are-”   
Natsu ran up to the guards on the left side, grabbing their heads and slamming them together, and then turned to the guards on the right.  
“Fire Dragon’s ROAR!” he shouted, unleashing a torrent of flames at the guards. He was so fast, they barely had time to react, before all 5 were lying on the ground, two smoldering, and all of them unconscious. He turned to the guild just before the doors burst open. DOZENS of wizards came rushing out, they were prepared and ready for battle. Natsu took a few leaps back, preparing himself for what was to come. Just before Natsu engaged, out came a man wearing purple robes, his dark red hair in a ponytail, holding a red staff with a black dragon etched onto it, and a permanent wicked grin etched into his disgusting face.  
“Well now! It looks like he’s finally come back! I can’t believe you lived! All those years ago, and I thought I was so thorough! The White Crown really is the young boy who got away…”  
The air grew thicker, rising with Natsu’s rage. Happy flew out underneath and behind the cloak, knowing the battle to come would be too much for Natsu if he had to worry about Happy, if he could worry about Happy. Luckily enough, no one seemed to notice him.  
“...Barreth…” he snarled. Natsu had never known rage so unbelievably intense. He was staring at the man who orchestrated and personally helped to kill his second family. Treya, his adorable little sister. Cindy, his feisty female friend. Parker, his arch rival and fellow insult connoisseur. And Ashley, the big sister… The one who saved him after losing his dragons…  
“So, you’re back. Finally here to join, eh? Well, nice to see a dragon slayer honoring Acnologia! However, you had your chance, and witnesses leave a bad taste in my mouth, so I’m going to have to ask you to stand down.”  
“You...you worship... that MENACE!” he roared! THIS was fury. All before was forgotten, besides the here and now. It was true, that was why he was so angry at Acnologia after Rösch burned. Some part of him knew it was his fault too. His minions. Everything, it was from Acnologia. In the midst of his rage, one of the guards that had a spear took a swing. He almost didn’t even notice until it was too late. Rage blinded him to all but Barreth. His vision showed the menacing, disgrace of a man standing in front of a mighty black dragon, in his mouth, the wing of his father. He jumped back, but the blade still did its damage. Slicing the cloak clean off of him, and nearly gutting him, the blade sliced from shoulder to hip.   
“RAAAAGHHHHH!” He screamed in pain. It was the worst injury he’d had since training with Igneel. That was going to scar.  
“How is it that in 3 years, you managed to get weaker? No wonder your dragons aren’t with you, I can’t believe a dragon would give power to a whelp like you anyway…”  
That was the final straw, suddenly the rage disappeared. The world froze, time itself stopped. Something was calling him.  
Kill them  
Kill them all  
The Dragon’s rage knows no end  
End their lives  
His eyes were closed. He let out a slow stream of flames, cauterizing the wound on his chest. The long dormant magical power reserve, created with the help of his father snapped open like a water balloon. The ground began to tremble, the wood of the guildhall started to crack. The power was so thick, the non-mage guards were knocked out instantly. All the mages were on the ground except for Barreth, who just looked terrified. Most were conscious but in serious pain.  
“What is this power?”  
“I’ve never felt something so intense!”  
“WHAT’S HAPPENING??”  
His fangs grew longer. White scales began to show prominence on the left side of his face, with his right side growing red ones. Two horns, one red and one white, grew atop his head, and his hands became that of a dragon. He entered Royal Dragon Force, a power never seen by human eyes before. No one had been blessed with dragon slayer powers by a true dragon king.  
“O’ flames that burn white with holy light, accept my rage and burn all those who oppose me. Take the form of deathly wings and BURN! WHITE FIRE DRAGON KING’S SECRET ART: RAGING WINGS!” his eyes shot open, his closed fists shooting to either side of him, every muscle flexed. Massive wings made of pure white fire erupted from his back. Each was at least 20 feet in length, and everything around was melting or in ashes. They each flapped down once, unleashing a blistering heat that killed at least half the members instantly, melted the guild hall, and left a massive crater that he was now standing in.  
All that was heard were screams. Absolute death was the only outcome of this. Those who weren’t already dead, were covered in blisters and writhing on the ground in pain. Barreth was the only one able to stand, but barely. He couldn’t speak or move, his clothes were gone, and his staff said to be forged in dragon flames had all but turned to ash.   
“White Fire Dragon King’s Secret Art: FLARE BLITZ!” He suddenly disappeared, reappearing behind Barreth and sticking a flaming fist through his heart, holding the now burnt organ in his hand. Before he had even fallen to the ground, he teleported again. Everyone he could see would be killed. He teleported rapidly, tearing, clawing, and burning everyone and everything. After everyone that was in or in front of the guild hall was dead, their bodies ashes, all that remained were those fleeing in fear. Those lucky few escaped his wings, only to fall victim to the dragon’s blitz.  
Kill them  
Some remain  
Not a soul leaves alive  
Then there was one left. He was out of teleports, his magic nearly gone, fueled on pure rage alone. The man was trembling, naked, and covered in burns. He was barely alive, but somehow able to crawl away. Not a drop of their blood had been spilled, but at least 50 people were dead. Not a drop of blood other than his own had time to spill. It was burned before it had a chance. Heat and fire of magnitude had never before been seen from a human before, and no one would live to tell the tale. He raised his hand ready to finish the last one off-  
“NATSU! STOP IT! YOU’VE GONE TOO FAR!” Happy screamed.  
“It’s not… It’s not enough… What they’ve done… It’s too easy for them…”   
“SNAP OUT OF IT!” Happy shouted, flying full speed and crashing into him. He hit the ground hard, seemingly snapping him out of his daze. It was reckless and stupid. Happy was lucky that he didn’t die on impact with Natsu, that the sheer magnitude of firepower he used wouldn’t kill him instantly, but somehow he was fine. Not a scratch or a burn anywhere. And Natsu was back. His eyes opened slowly, and he looked around at the town. It was destroyed, the ground was smoking, there was melted rock where the guild hall once was, and piles of ash littered the streets.  
“What… happened…”  
“It’s over, Natsu… it’s over…” he whispered, as Natsu keeled over asleep, never noticing one man running for his very life. Running away from the monster he had just witnessed release himself in a rage-fueled rampage. 

[Flashback End]

Makarov was speechless. Never had he heard of a slaughter of such magnitude. Dark guilds were known for their cruel acts, but the power that was just described was on a level he couldn’t fathom. A bloodless slaughter? A single flap of wings melting over a dozen people? This was truly a nightmare for anyone who witnessed it and lived to tell the tale. Not only this, but this was a child! He looked to be as old as Gray who was only 15! The boy had gone through unimaginable pain, and the circumstances leading to such an event made sense.   
“My child, you have gone through terrible pain in your life,” Makarov began. “Losing those close to you is the hardest thing one has to go through, but you’ve managed to move on twice. I think in your mind, there was nothing left for you here. No one needed you, so you shut your mind down and started to pour it into something else. A goal. When you finally saw a way to achieve some piece of that goal you snapped. Such things happen after tragedies, my child. You feel guilty now, and it is something you must come to terms with.”  
‘Now I understand…’ Makarov thought. He had been coming back from a council meeting the other day, and during the last day, news came in of a small town called Rösch being decimated. The dark guild there, Nightwing, was a cult of Acnologia worshippers, seeing him as a god of destruction that would plunge the world into chaos if they could awaken him from his slumber. The informant reported that everyone was gone, the entire place burnt and melted to the ground. One person that had turned himself in was nearly dead. They tried to get information out of him, but he trembled and groaned, only saying, “Flare blitz… flare blitz… the wings, OH GOD THE WINGS! GET THEM AWAY!” He was completely delirious, writhing and screaming. Now it made sense. It was this child, the spells he crafted using his rage was etched into the man’s mind, the fear like no other. The heat melted away his sanity and left a trembling mess of a man behind. The council wasn’t sure what to make of the information, but such a dark guild was dealt with, and if no complaints were made, they were prepared to sweep it under the rug. They nicknamed the event ‘The Flare Blitz of Rösch’ after the words that the insane prisoner muttered before screaming.   
“I...know… I didn’t want to kill them… I didn’t… I only needed the one… I just lost it… I’m glad that one lived, I didn’t…. I didn’t kill them all…” he was whispering holding his head in his hands and trembling violently.   
Happy was in tears, still hugging Natsu, and Makarov was doing his best to stay composed. It was hard.  
‘Frankly,’ Makarov thought, ‘The kid is lucky it was just the one that got away. And he’s lost his mind. Even against a dark guild of such power, slaughter of this scale could not be ignored if there was any evidence suggesting who did it.’  
“Well, child. Why don’t you get some sleep, and I have a proposition for you when you wake up.”  
Natsu turned back to Makarov, clearly confused, but nodded anyway. Still drugged up and physically and mentally exhausted, he lied back down and passed out, Happy sleeping alongside him. ‘Makarov...isn’t he the master of…’ was the last thought Natsu had, before passing out.  
“You offering him a place in your guild, Makarov? That may not go so well… If anyone finds out who he is, you’re in a lot of trouble. The White Crown has a 10 million jewel bounty on his head last I heard, and if anyone finds out about Rösch, that could skyrocket. And the council would pin it on you.”  
“I know,” Makarov sighed and stroked his moustache. “But I can’t just turn a blind eye to someone reaching for the light. I can pull him out of the darkness. He just needs a hand to find it…”  
“Stubborn fool…”  
Natsu slept almost the entire rest of the day, Porlyusica saying he needed to stay one more day, and then he was getting his butt out of her house. Occasionally he’d wake up and get something to eat that Makarov had brought him, and other times he’d have his bandages changed. Each time his eyes got a little more life to them. They were still cold, and filled with hatred and sorrow, but they weren’t completely void of feeling and life as they were when the old man first saw him. The next morning, Porlyusica kicked them out after Makarov had given him breakfast. Natsu needed to wear the bandage for only two more days, much to Porlyusica’s surprise, normally an injury of that size, especially one left only cauterized for three days, would be there for at least a few weeks. Natsu insisted he was a quick healer, something to do with his dragon constitution, and his fire having a bit of a healing nature for him.  
Natsu was walking through the forest with Makarov. He was still following the boy, still wanting to offer him a hand out of the darkness, but something told him that Natsu needed to do something first. After about 20 minutes, Natsu stopped and sniffed around, before digging near a tree.  
“My child, you’ve been through much anguish and sorrow in your life. I fear that you once had a brilliant light in your life, but it kept being extinguished. I ask you if you’d let me try to light that shine one more time for you.”  
Natsu stopped digging and turned to the man, seemingly very confused at what he was asking.  
“I’m the master of the guild Fairy Tail. Would you like to join my family?” he asked, smiling as if to reassure Natsu of his good intentions.  
Natsu was shocked. He knew of Fairy Tail, they were strong. Bounty hunters had to keep an eye on guilds all the time, in case they ever became targets, and Fairy Tail was always a threat. Gildarts, Laxus, Kael, and a few up-and-comers Erza and Mira were all names known to Natsu.  
Natsu returned to digging deep in thought. Makarov didn’t expect a reaction, but he could tell that Natsu hadn’t outright rejected his offer.  
“Natsu, I think you should do it.” Happy said. Once again, Natsu paused and turned to look at Happy. “You promised me you wouldn’t lose yourself, Natsu. I saved you once, but I don’t think I-”  
“I know, Happy.” Natsu responded and resumed digging. “I’ve heard of Fairy Tail before.”  
Makarov seemed somewhat surprised by this, and Natsu just smirked and continued.  
“Bounty hunters know and see more than anyone could ever know. There isn’t anywhere in Ishgar I haven’t seen.” He stopped digging and pulled a large sack out of the hole before continuing. “You guys are top notch. Always gotta know who might come after us or get to the targets before we do. Fairy Tail is the one everyone knows to watch out for.”  
“Natsu, what about-”  
“I’m getting there, Happy.” Natsu sighed, and glanced in the sack. “I really don’t know. Fate is a cruel mistress. Happy is the only family I’ve been given who hasn’t been killed. Not to mention the fact that I just slaughtered an entire guild with my own hands.”  
“But Natsu-”  
“Happy! Let me finish!” Natsu snapped, irritated that he kept getting interrupted. He tossed the sack to Makarov. “You guys are quite the destructive bunch, so as thanks for everything, take it. I don’t need it.”  
Makarov looked inside and his eyes went huge, “Nonsense! I can’t-”  
“You can and you will, old man. If you leave it here, I’ll bring it to the doorstep every day until it stays there.” He glared at Makarov, challenging him to reject the offer.  
Makarov saw the serious glare in his eyes, and just sighed. “Well I do appreciate it young man, but about joining Fairy Tail...”  
“I’m not going to say no,” he replied, running a hand through his hair. “I’m just...I’m not ready yet… I think I need more time...to sort through what happened…”  
“Very wise, my child. You are far beyond your years, in both power and wisdom.” Makarov replied, nodding his head at the boy’s response.  
“Natsu, are you sure?” Happy asked. He saw this as a chance for Natsu, one that would disappear if it weren’t pounced on.  
“I’m sure. If you won’t accept my ‘gift,’” he said gesturing to the sack, “think of it as paying for a seat. I don’t know when, but when I’m ready, I’ll come find you.” Natsu gave Happy a tight hug before continuing. “I know you think that I need this Happy, and I agree with you. I just...I can't face anyone before I can face myself.”  
Makarov smiled and put his hand on the boy’s shoulder.  
“Well, good luck, Natsu. I hope that you find your way into the light soon. Happy? Make sure you keep an eye on him! He’ll need you to show him the way.”  
“Aye, sir!” the cat gave a determined salute.  
Makarov chuckled, gave a final wave over his shoulder, and walked into town.  
“Hey Happy?” Natsu suddenly broke the silence that had been hanging in the air for almost ten minutes after they watched the old man leave. “What do you think being in a guild is like?”

[A Short While Later - The Fairy Tail Guild Hall]

“GINGER HEADED BITCH!”  
“STUCK UP COW!”  
“I’M A REAL MAN!”  
“QUIET YOU BRATS!” Makarov yelled entering the guild hall.   
“Oh, Master! You’re back! What’s in the bag?” A barmaid walked up to greet him.  
“A bit of a gift from a friend of mine…” he tossed the bag to her.  
“EHHHHHH????” she exclaimed after looking in the bag.   
“What is it?”  
“Yeah, don’t keep us waiting!”   
The whole guild was crowding around the barmaid, who just looked shocked.  
“The sack... there’s at least 5 million jewels in here!”  
The whole guild just went silent. “EHHHHHHH?!???????”  
“That’s more than I make in a year!”  
“You got any more rich friends, Gramps?”  
“Where did you get this from? I demand to know!”  
Makarov just waved and closed the door to his office. ‘Well, they seem interested already,’ he thought, chuckling as he sat down at his desk. ‘I wonder when he’ll come by…’


	6. The Sixth

[Forest outside Magnolia - X781]

It was midday sometime in January, and Natsu and Happy were sitting down in the forest enjoying some lunch. Natsu had been writing in his journal, while Happy was munching on his fish, sighing happily.  
“It’s been so long since I’ve had a good fishie! You should buy me more fishies, Natsu! Big meanie!” Happy pouted after finishing the last of what was quite a comical amount of fish.  
Natsu put his journal away, sighing at Happy’s antics. “You know I’m still rogue, right? I don’t want to show my face around so freely yet. Besides, the last time we had fish was yesterday!”  
“That’s a long time!” Happy replied, still not over his near 24-hour gap in fish consumption. “Besides, you said we were on our way to join Fairy Tail! It’s been 3 months since you told that old man you’d think about his offer, and gave up ALL of our jewels, that YOU HID FROM ME!”   
“(sigh) We are Happy, we are joining Fairy Tail. I’m just a little on edge you know? I still don’t want to go out in public without my cloak, not for a while longer at least. Maybe once we’ve been at Fairy Tail for a few years…”  
“A FEW YEARS???”  
“Fine! A little while! Why do you care? They’re my clothes!”  
“You know exactly why I care, Natsu!” Happy snapped, giving him a glare.  
Natsu relented. Happy was right, as usual. He never quite got over that. A CAT, that was not only younger than him, but that HE RAISED, was right far more often than he was. It didn't make any sense. Here he was being raised by the creature that he was supposed to be raising. ‘Fate’s a wily one, I’ll give her that,’ Natsu thought.   
“I’m wearing it to the guild,” Natsu said firmly, leaving no room for argument.  
“You better make a good effort to take it off, Natsu! You owe me a fish every day after the first! No, make that two fish!” Happy stated, drooling. “Maybe you should keep it on-”  
“Not happening cat! You get the normal amount of fish that you get when you’re with me, plus the fish that you will undoubtedly sneak behind my back by giving sad kitty eyes at them when I’m not looking.”  
“Hey! I don’t- fine…” Happy just pouted. Natsu knew him far too well.  
Natsu just chuckled and started to gather his stuff together. After fixing his various dragon jewelry and donning his cloak, he was ready to go.   
“Alright, you fish-obsessed feline. Let’s get you a family,” Natsu said grabbing the cat and ruffling the top of his head.  
“This is for you too you know! How can I be happy if you’re miserable? I’d just be Nats-too!”  
“You’re not very good at puns, ya’know that cat?”  
“HEY!”  
The two of them laughed, and headed forward. To Magnolia. To another chance at a family… To Fairy Tail…

[20 Minutes Later - Outside Fairy Tail Guild Hall]

“Well this is it, lil’ buddy. You ready?”  
“I should be asking you that! You’re the one who waited! I’ve been ready for months, Natsu!”  
Natsu chuckled and got ready to enter.

[Inside the Fairy Tail Guild Hall]

“WHO ARE YOU CALLING WEAK, YOU GINGER PRINCESS?”  
“YOU, DEMON WHORE!”  
“ARMORED BITCH!”  
“WHITE HAIRED WIMP!”  
“Uh, guys maybe you should-”  
“STAY OUT OF IT, STRIPPER!” they both said at the same time, punching the half naked boy in the face and across the guild hall.   
The arguing this time, just like pretty much all the other times for the past god knows how many years by now, was between Erza Scarlet and Mirajane Strauss. While both comrades of the Fairy Tail guild, they were bitter rivals. Mira had white hair that she kept in a ponytail, wore a dark purple shirt that exposed her midriff, and shorts. Erza had brilliant red hair in a braid, and wore a long white skirt and armor. Mira had recently been promoted to S-Class, following Erza who had been promoted the year before. That meant Fairy Tail now had a total of five S-Class mages, Gildarts Clive, Kael, Laxus Dreyar, Erza Scarlet, and Mirajane Strauss. The two girls had always been fierce rivals, but with the gap in S-Class being eliminated, they both got even worse, constantly at each other’s throats. Gildarts was almost never there and Laxus didn’t give a crap about them, so the only one who was ever able to stop them was Kael, meaning whenever he was absent, like now, they often nearly or fully destroyed the guild hall.  
The boy they had punched across the room after calling him a stripper, was Gray Fullbuster. He was another wizard from Fairy Tail, and definitely strong, however he had a ways to go before reaching S-Class. His main issue was his unfortunate habit of accidentally stripping, which he picked up as a child from his magic training.   
Fairy Tail was no stranger to fighting, their daily brawls were a defining staple of the guild, but with Mira and Erza, it was always more destructive. They were the strongest females in the guild, and both were wily and unpredictable. Regardless, they continued, oblivious to the world around them, some ignoring the two and others cowering behind various furniture.  
The fighting between the two feisty female wizards had just started to enter its middle stage, or the stage where the two would occasionally throw weak attacks to provoke the other, while hurling overused insults at each other. Usually they would stop after this point, but today it seemed to be getting more intense. Then, the guild doors opened, revealing a cloaked figure of what appeared to be a young man, no more than five-and-a-half feet tall. Upon his head was what appeared to be a sleeping blue animal.  
Other than the battling Erza and Mira, most of the members had turned to look at the mysterious looking figure that entered their guild. It was rather strange, most of them thought. He gave off a vibe of mystery and maybe even danger, but on his head was a sleeping cat. Those two things just did not go together, so the curiosity was mounting as the figure started to look around.  
Natsu had his eyes set on exploring the guild hall, his nose set to check for danger, and his ears focusing on the brawling females in the center of the hall. His ears were twitching rapidly, he was sniffing as much as possible, and his eyes were darting around the room trying to absorb everything like a sponge. Seeing no danger aside from the fight between what he recognized as Erza Scarlet and Mirajane Strauss, two mages whom he could easily defeat, even both together if the need should arrive, though definitely not without difficulty, he decided to continue his exploration. He reached above his head, woke up Happy, whispered something to him, and set off to sniff around the guildhall. Happy dove into his cloak, dug around for a few moments, before pulling out a few jewels and flying over to the barmaid.   
Now everyone was even more confused. Not only did this strange man have the most contradictory appearance ever, he just talked to a cat who flew away holding a pouch.  
“I want some fishies! You got any fishies lady?” Happy asked the barmaid.  
She almost fell over in shock, that a cat just flew over asking to buy fishies.  
“Are you ok, lady? I just want some fishies.” Happy was confused at her reaction at first, before remembering that most people seemed a little surprised when he asked them for things.  
“Um, yeah. Yes? Of course, kitty, we have fishies. What kind of fish would you like?” she asked him.  
“The raw kind!” Happy responded, placing the jewels on the counter, and flying in circles. “Fishies! Fishies! I’m gonna get fishies!” he chanted. It was a clever plan, he thought. Natsu asked him to go ask for some fishies and just act like himself. Natsu’s overall demeanor wasn’t a very friendly one, but Happy and Natsu both knew that no one could resist a giggling cat.  
The barmaid, recovering from her shock, just started laughing and went over to find some fishies for the cat.  
“So what’s up cat? What’s with you and the creepy dude?” The girl asking him was probably around Natsu’s age, but had brown hair and a deck of fancy looking cards in front of her. Her name was Cana Alberona, a hopeless alcoholic who could beat even the toughest of men in a drinking contest any day of the week. It was only early afternoon, and she seemed already a little tipsy.  
“We’re looking for the old guy! What’s his name again? Mocha… Munchy… Hold on, I know it… MAKAROV! That’s it!”  
“Whatcha doin’ lookin’ for him, kitty cat? Looking to join Fairy Tail?” she asked, giggling like a schoolgirl.  
“Yep!” he replied, hands on his hips with a confident grin.  
That sobered her up quite quickly, and left most of the members in a state of shock.  
“Really? I was just jok-, uh, seriously?”  
“Yeah! We met him a few months ago, but my stubborn hooded friend over there,” he gestured sticking his tongue out at Natsu, who was currently sniffing some of the walls, earning many confused stares from the members, “decided he wanted to wait.”  
“Oh, uh, that makes a little more sense, I guess.” she scratched her head, and gestured to the stairs. “He’s up there if you want to take a look.”  
“Thanks! My name’s Happy by the way!” the barmaid finally came back with a tray filled with half a dozen fishies, to which Happy immediately teared up and started chowing down.   
With Happy being the focus of the guild now, Natsu decided to head upstairs and see Makarov. Unfortunately, that meant getting past a duel of destiny with two fierce female fairy tail mages. ‘Oh well,’ he thought. ‘Maybe I could try to talk some sense into them while I’m at it… Probably not, Igneel was better at that sort of thing…’  
Thinking back to his time with Igneel, he walked directly between the battle, completely lost to the world around him.  
“Hey! Watch out!” a few people called out to him, but it was too late. A cloud of dust shot out, as Mira had thrown a punch in her satan soul form, and Erza had swung one of her swords.  
“Great! You killed the new guy already!”  
“Man, we could’ve at least met him first!”  
“Can I keep the cat?”  
Happy turned to watch him, and just burst out laughing.  
“Hey, Happy, what are you laughing for? I thought that was your friend! He could-”  
She stopped midway, eyes huge when she saw it. Natsu was simply standing in between them, his left hand holding Mira’s fist, and his right held Erza’s wrist. The entire guild was in shock, though none quite as much as Mira and Erza. They both called off their magic, still in shock, as the mysterious hooded man began to speak. He still hadn’t looked at either one of them.  
“You really shouldn’t be fighting so much,” he said, clear sadness audible to the whole guild who was listening intently. Except for Happy, he was laughing so hard he almost fell off the table. “I thought Fairy Tail was a family. Treasure what you have…” he said before walking off.  
“YEAH RIGHT!” Happy shouted between fits of giggles. “YOU’RE ONE TO TALK!”  
They all watched, listening to the sounds of Happy’s giggles while the hooded man slowly walked upstairs and knocked on the door to the guild master’s office.  
“Come in!” came a voice, and then he was gone.   
Everyone just looked at Erza and Mira. Erza was still staring at the guild master’s door, and Mira was inspecting her fist.   
“Did he just-?”  
“Yeah, he did.”  
“WHO THE HECK IS THAT GUY? HE JUST BLOCKED BOTH ATTACKS WITHOUT EVEN LOOKING??”  
“He looked tired, almost like he was sleep walking!”  
The guild was in mayhem, half the people trying to confirm with everyone else that what they thought happened did in fact happen, and the other half stunned into silence.  
Happy was recovering from his giggle fit long after Natsu had left the return. “Show off! Just because you can block them both with your eyes closed, doesn’t mean you actually had too!” Happy was still feasting on his yummy fishies, when Cana decided to grill this cat for some information.   
“Happy’s your name right? Who’s your friend there?”  
“(munch munch)... Hre doeshn’t rike me giffing out hish name.” Happy replied, finishing up his sixth and final fish in record time.   
“Who doesn’t?” Cana asked, eyeing him suspiciously.   
“Nat-HEY! THAT’S NOT FAIR!” Happy shouted, crossing his arms in a pout.  
Cana just laughed. “Damn! So close too! Nat-something hmmmm…”  
“Please don’t tell him I said anything, I’ve never slipped up before! He’ll tell you, probably, at some point. I’ll even make him show you his scar, just don’t say anything!” Happy begged.  
Cana just kept laughing, “Sure thing cat! Weird that he doesn’t like you giving out his name. Why is that?”  
Happy hesitated, “I...uh...I can’t tell you that. Maybe once we’re here a bit longer he’ll tell you. He’s just, uh, a really private person! That’s all!”  
“Happy!” a voice called from upstairs.  
“Coming, Natsu!” he yelled back, zooming into the room with Natsu.  
‘Wonder what that was about,’ Cana thought, returning to her true love, an entire barrel of wine. ‘And who bargains with scars?’

[Earlier - Makarov’s Office]

Knock knock  
“Come in!” Makarov called, not bothering glancing up from his paperwork.  
“Good to see you again, Makarov,” Natsu said.  
“Hmmm, where is that voice from again?” Makarov put his paperwork down and looked up at the cloaked figure.  
Natsu removed his cloak and gave a sad smile to the old man, reminding him of his existence.  
“Ah! My child, you’ve finally come! I was worried you’d forgotten!” Makarov reached out and shook his hand in greetings.  
“Of course not, I paid good money for this spot!” Natsu replied, chuckling a little at his own joke.  
“I really must thank you again for that, my boy. That went a long way. You have no idea how much we have to spend on repairs for the guild alone, let alone jobs.” Makarov looked about to cry just thinking about it.  
“Of course, it was the least I could do, think nothing of it.” Natsu replied, taking a seat.   
“So, what have you been up to, Natsu?”   
“I wandered around for a little longer. Happy and I spent a lot of time just talking or enjoying the company of silence. I trained a bit, replenishing the magic I lost after...uh...yeah… But it was nice. I’ve...I think I understand it a little better now.”  
“That’s wonderful! Would you mind calling Happy in here now? I’d like to speak to both of you about something.”  
“Of course, I was about to anyway. One of your members sounds like she’s really grilling him for info, though I probably should have avoided the conflict rather than interrupting it.” he stood to call Happy. “Also, I would appreciate it if you kept everything I told you other than my name and magic to yourself. I can assure you that I have no other secrets.  
“Of course, my boy.”  
“HAPPY!” Natsu called, opening the door slightly.  
“Coming!” Happy replied, flying into the door and landing back on Natsu’s head.  
“So, I trust you two have made your decision?” Makarov said, after the door had shut and Natsu had taken his seat.   
“Of course. I wouldn’t go into such a crowded place without reason. I’m a walking target should anyone manage to figure out who I am.”  
“Right, eheheh,” Makarov sweated a little, remembering fully just who was joining his guild. The White Crown. The Flare Blitz of Rösch. A bounty hunter worth at least 10 million jewels.  
“Now then! Since you both have decided to join Fairy Tail, I just have to remind you a few things you likely already know. We welcome those with good hearts with open arms. Your enemies are our enemies, and your friends are our friends,” Makarov continued, while Natsu watched, smiling. “I warn many of my children of this, but you are one that I’ll worry about the most. Do not hesitate to come to us for aid. You may think you are protecting us, but putting yourself in danger trying to achieve martyrdom is not how a family does things! Understand that, brat?”   
“I think I’m going to like it here,” Natsu responded with a smile. “Should you ever need someone in the underground…” he added.  
“YOU’RE NOT HELPING, NATSU!” Happy shouted.  
“This is exactly what I’m worried about,” Makarov sighed, and Natsu just chuckled.  
“Well now, let’s go meet the guild shall we?”   
“One last thing, Master Makarov,” Natsu said, tentatively.  
“What is it, my child?”  
“I’d like to... retain my cloak for a few days...Happy, you, and Porlyusica are the only ones who’ve seen my face in 3 years, and I’m not sure if I’m ready to make it public yet…”  
“Hmmm,” he nodded. “I can agree to your terms, however your explanations are your own for that, and I expect you to make an effort to fit in with the rest of my brats! Got that?”  
“Thank you,” Natsu added nodding his head slightly.  
“Well, I’ll go ahead and introduce you. In the meantime, figure out what kind of stamp you want and where you want it,” Makarov said, exiting the room.  
“Fairy Tail…” Natsu muttered, donning his cloak.  
“Are you nervous Natsu? You’re probably just afraid to show your face ‘cause of how ugly you are,” Happy said laughing.  
Natsu just smiled, shook his head, and knocked Happy out of the air with his fist.  
“Quiet, cat. You almost gave my name to an alcoholic didn’t you?”  
“What?? I didn’t- I mean… I…” Happy stumbled and stuttered. Natsu chucked and ruffled his fur, returning the cat to the top of his now cloaked head of pink and white hair.   
“Nice going, cat. Good job,” he said, exiting the room.  
“HEY!” Happy shouted, continuing to pout. “ONE TIME, IN THREE YEARS!”

[Moments earlier]

“ALRIGHT LISTEN UP BRATS!” Makarov roared, instantly shushing the already relatively quiet guild hall. Most of them were still reeling from the demonstration Natsu gave them earlier. “We’ve got a new member joining today! A friend of mine I met a few months ago who generously handed over a donation to serve in his place until joining.”  
“That was him!”  
“He looked like some kid!”  
“He bought a seat? That’s a thing?”  
“QUIET!” Makarov shouted again.   
“HEY!” Happy shouted, as Natsu exited the office. “ONE TIME IN THREE YEARS!”  
The guild all looked at the cloaked man, who seemed to be in an argument with the blue cat from earlier. He stopped bickering and turned to the old man.”  
“Really, Makarov...I had intended that payment to be kept quiet…”  
Ignoring him, he continued, “Well brats, here he is! Natsu Drakneel!”   
Natsu approached the railing, rapidly absorbing information from everyone he saw. Large man with white hair, likely uses physical magic, appears to be related to Mirajane. Mostly naked boy. Around my age, doesn’t seem phased by temperatures. Two old men, one smoking one not. Young girl. Also appears similar to Mirajane Strauss. Blue haired young female. Appears to lack physical abilities and relies on intelligence. He rapidly absorbed information about the guild members like a sponge, and after about 30 seconds of silence from both sides, Natsu finally spoke.   
“Uh...Hello.” He said.  
“HI NATSU!” the guild roared in response.  
Natsu made his way down the steps and was met with the young white-haired girl from earlier.   
“Hi, Natsu! I’m Lisanna, nice to meet you!” she said, holding out her hand.   
“Lisanna Strauss, hello.” he responded, shaking her hand and sniffing a bit.  
“How did you-”  
“You look a lot like Mirajane. The muscly one is related to you as well, is he not?”  
“Very perceptive! I think you’ll do great! Follow me!” she said grabbing his hand and pulling him over to the various tables.   
“This is my brother Elfman, my sister Mirajane, and Gray Fullbuster.”  
“THAT CAT IS MANLY!”  
“Tch...Lucky catch.”  
“What’s with the cloak?”  
“Why are you in your underwear?” Natsu replied, seemingly unphased by the group.   
“AH DAMNIT!” he shouted, running off to look for his clothes.  
“Sorry about that, Gray has a bit of a bad habit,” Lisanna sweated a little as she explained.  
“Not a problem, I seem to be in a bit of a reverse habit as of now,” he joked, gesturing to his cloak.  
“Listen, mister cloak man,” Mira suddenly stood up and pointed her finger at him. “I don’t know what your deal is, but you can’t just-”  
Natsu took her hand and shook it, proceeding to sniff Mirajane’s arm, unconsciously trying to memorize the scent of a wizard as strong as her.  
“EEEK!” she shouted, pulling her arm back, and blushing. “What are you doing??”   
“Oh! I’m sorry, it’s… been a long time since I’ve been around humans… I must have picked that habit back up… Sorry, I really didn’t-”  
“It-it’s fine, not a-”  
“EHHHHH?” The whole room was shocked at this exchange. Not only was the she-devil Mirajane Strauss blushing like a schoolgirl, a hooded man was apologizing after sniffing someone because he developed a habit from not being around ‘humans’ for a long time.  
“Uh, right, well moving along.” Lisanna seemed quite disturbed by that, and practically dragged him to the next table. “This is Erza Scarlet and Levy McGarden.”  
“Pleased to make your acquaintance. Though anyone could catch the attack of that wench, it takes some skill to catch one of my swords.” she said, holding out her arm as well. “I do not wish to impede on habits, you may sniff my arm as well should you wish.”  
“Wow! Thanks!” Natsu didn’t think twice about the offer, approaching and sniffing around.  
“U-uh, that’s enough… thanks…” Erza started to get a bit uncomfortable after a few seconds.  
“Yeah, right. Sorry…” Natsu muttered, retreating to greet the short bluenette.  
“Nice to meet you Natsu!”   
“Indeed! You seem like a writer. Anything interesting?” he asked, shaking her hand, reminding himself that sniffing was not a thing humans do.  
“Oh! No! I can’t write at all, I just love to read.” she replied, still a bit nervous watching him sniff all of her friends.  
“Interesting…” he said, turning back towards Lisanna. “Shall we continue?”  
They continued around, Natsu managed to prevent himself from sniffing anyone else as he walked around. The old men were called Macao and Wakaba, there was a purple haired girl named Laki, an alcoholic brunette named Cana, a blonde who seemed not in the mood for anything that he recognized as Laxus Dreyar, powerful lighting mage and grandson of Makarov, and several others. Overall, he seemed to be at worst indifferent to them, though he decided he liked the Strauss siblings, Erza, and Levi.   
In the end, he followed Lisanna and sat back down at a table consisting of all three Strauss siblings and Erza. Happy decided that they weren’t as interesting as cute-charming the barmaids into giving him fish, so he returned to the bar attempting to get free fishies.  
‘Now that is a sight,’ he thought. He wondered what it would be like to still have his orphanage siblings with him, and how cool it would be if they learned magic. Instantly lost in a sea of thought, he didn’t notice that everyone at the table was staring at him, and had been trying to get his attention for some time.  
“Natsu?”  
“Yes! Sorry, was that?”  
“Geeze, lost in thought? I called your name three times!” Lisanna said, almost pouting that he was ignoring her.  
“I apologize, it’s… been a long time…”  
“How come you said you haven’t been around humans for a long time?” she asked, smiling at his cloaked face.  
“Well, it’s been, let’s see… three years? I think? That was the last time I interacted with a human off of a battlefield.”  
“THREE YEARS?!?!” Everyone at the table seemed very confused now. Who was this guy? Who just lives alone for three years and then randomly joins one of the closest knit guilds in Fiore?  
“Yes, I think that’s about right. Four seems too long, and it’s definitely more than two, therefore I presume it is three.”  
“I think we got that…” Lisanna deadpanned.  
“I think she was more interested in why you haven’t been around humans in three years, genius…” Mira added.  
“Right! Well, that is a long story, but to simplify it, I lived in a small village several years ago,” he told them, trying to move on quickly.  
“Well what happened?” Mira pressed.  
“They...um…” he hesitated for a moment, but they looked genuinely curious. He decided as long as he didn’t go into detail about anything, it was ok to tell them. “They were killed…”  
“Oh! I’m so sorry! I had no idea!” Even Mira felt bad about asking. She may be a demon, but she wasn’t heartless.  
“Really, it’s...fine...You didn’t know and couldn’t have known without asking,” he explained, still a bit uncomfortable.  
“Yes! Well, um…let’s see…” Lisanna was quickly trying to change the subject. “Oh! Why do you wear that cloak? You’re all mysterious… I bet Mira wants to know what you look like,” she added giggling and raising her eyebrows at Mira.  
“I DO NOT!” Mira shouted.  
“Right…” Natsu responded. “Well, it’s also been three years since anyone aside from Makarov has actually seen my face…”   
“Oh, um…right…sorry about that…” Lisanna was sweating nervously, every subject seeming to be a big red flag..  
“Please, don’t worry about it. If I don’t want to talk about it, I won’t,” Natsu responded, understanding that they were just curious, and that it was mostly his fault for being so secretive. “Besides, I plan on taking it off eventually...It’s just...been a long time…” he finished, quietly.  
“Of course! Just remember, Fairy Tail is a family!” Lisanna finally smiled, having the tension being lowered a little did wonders.  
“Blocking Mira’s punch was MANLY! Are you really that strong?” Elfman questioned.  
“Oh, I don’t know...I’ve heard of Mirajane’s strength across Fiore and even slightly outside of it, I’m not sure if I really rank up…”  
“Well...I mean...if you’re curious...would you want to spar?” Mira asked. ‘Why am I so nervous around this guy? Is it because he was sniffing me? Or that he blocked that punch AND Erza’s sword? I can’t figure him out!’ she thought.   
“I’m not sure…” Natsu mused, not entirely wanting to have to put enough of a show to beat the she-devil.  
“How about me, Mystery Man?”   
Natsu turned to see Gray Fullbuster approaching him, a challenging look in his eye.  
“Ah, hello! Gray was it? Nice to see you kept your clothes on this time! I’m sure you’ll break that habit eventually!” Natsu reassured.  
Everyone at the table started to giggle.  
“ALRIGHT LET’S GO HOTSHOT! SEE WHAT YOU GOT!” Gray shouted, getting in position for an ice-make spell.  
“Oh, interesting! An ice make wizard! Most of them are in the Northern continent. There used to be quite a few up there as I recall,” Natsu mused, still not really paying attention to Gray.  
“ICE MAKE: HAMMER!” Gray shouted, summoning a giant hammer made of ice above his head. The rest of them dove out of the way, but Natsu was still thinking.  
“Ice-make mages are rare in these parts, are you from the North?” Natsu asked, as the hammer fell down towards him. He simply raised his hand up, catching it and melting it without really giving it much attention. “You’ll have to forgive me for asking, but I’ve never actually seen a maker wizard before. Can you really make anything? Or is there a limit based on power? For example, would it be possible to build something as detailed as a home I wonder?”  
At this point, Gray was pissed. Not only did he effortly melt his ice, with his HAND no less, he was still ranting about something that had nothing to do with his fight. A few members were holding chuckles at the display, the rest were confused why Gray was attacking the newcomer who didn’t seem to care.  
“Ice Make: Lance!” he shouted, firing multiple ice projectiles at Natsu.  
“Interesting! So you can make projectiles as well as stationary objects! I must say, this is quite fascinating,” Natsu continued rambling as he once again held up a hand and the ice just melted.  
“Damnit! Fight me! What are you doing!” Gray shouted.  
“Oh, my apologies! I thought you were just demonstrating. Right, uh, sure let’s go to the center to avoid collateral.”  
“Did that guy say he didn’t realize he was being attacked?”  
“How did he think those were just demonstrations?”  
“Oh, simple! The power used was not lethal, so I had presumed it was only a demonstration,” Natsu responded. ‘I wonder why they’re whispering? I can still hear them.’  
“EHHHHH????” Once again, the entire room was lost.  
“Hold on,” Gray said. “You thought because I wasn’t trying to kill you, that I wasn’t engaging in a fight?”  
“Oh, right, sorry about that. This is a spar. I haven’t sparred with anyone... let’s see… Actually, this is my first spar against a human! Everything else has been me defending against lethal force,” he continued, arriving at the center of the room facing Gray.  
Gray hesitated a moment before asking, “You’re not gonna… kill me if you win...right?”  
Normally everyone would laugh at Gray being so nervous before a fight, but at this point they seemed to understand. Apparently, he had never fought for fun or practice before, well at least not against a ‘human’ as he had said.  
“Don’t worry about it! I rarely if ever need to use lethal force. Though I will hold back, most people I end up fighting...well...it looks like it hurts, eheh,” he scratched the back of his head. He was trying his best to explain the situation, but everything he said seemed to only make the hole he dug for himself deeper.  
“Right…” Gray was definitely rethinking this spar, but decided to, as Elfman would say, man up and take it. “Ice Make:-”  
“Fire Dragon’s Iron Fist!” Natsu shot across the room before Gray had a chance to finish casting, and punched him in the stomach, shooting him across the room, and he was unconscious by the time he hit the ground.  
“Shoot! Sorry! Ah, damnit, I knew I shouldn’t have used magic! Happy! Go make sure he’s ok for me!”  
“AYE SIR!” he shouted, flying over towards the collapsed maker mage.  
“He is still alive sir! Seems in good health! Should be a minor burn and bruising, and he’s unconscious, but that’s all normal for a spar.”  
“Thank goodness, thanks Happy.”  
“Aye, sir!” he replied flying back over to the bar.  
“So, anyways, I was also going to ask-”  
“HOW DID YOU DO THAT?”  
“WHAT SPELL WAS THAT?”  
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE USED MAGIC?”  
Natsu was immediately swarmed with questioning guild members, all trying to get information out of him at the same time.   
“Slow down! Give him some space!” Erza shouted, immediately shutting the crowd up.  
“Very impressive, Miss Scarlet! I must say, your reputation is very accurate.”  
“Right...Um...thank you… There really is no need to be so formal...” she stuttered in response. ‘Damnit! What’s with this guy!’ she thought to herself.  
“Can I ask a question?” this time it was from Levi, who seemed very interested in the new members magic.  
“Of course!” Natsu replied, happy to finally only receive one question at a time.  
“How were you able to hear us whispering about you when you were across the room? I admit it was probably rude, but since you know I may as well admit it.”  
“Interesting question! Yes, I have extremely sharpened senses. That is also why I have to restrain myself from sniffing people when I meet them oftentimes, it’s a way to remember people. Though I don’t know why I was able to restrain myself from everyone except Miss Strauss and Miss Scarlet…Hmmm..” he continued rambling about not quite understanding the nature of his habit returning, and Mira and Erza both turned away from him blushing fiercely.   
“Um, Natsu?”  
“Yes! Apologies, Lisanna. Human conversations are very different to me, I normally only have Happy to talk to and he just listens to my ramblings. That could very well be because- and there I go again...Anyway! Continue!”  
“Right, uh, why do you have super strong senses, and why do you keep referring to ‘human’ things? Does it have something to do with your magic?” Lisanna decided if she could ask enough questions, the rants would connect and he would have somewhere to go rather than talking in circles, as he had been doing since they met him.  
“Another good question! All of them can be answered almost identically, actually. Quite amusing, isn’t it? Anyway, my magic type is dragon slayer magic. This naturally enhances my senses, and due to my, um, heritage, my senses are even stronger than those of an ordinary dragon slayer. ‘Human’ customs are far different from dragons, so it takes me time to get used to them. You see, outside of dragons and Happy, I’ve only lived with humans for a year. All my other knowledge about them is nothing more than reading and hearsay, which is likely where I seemed to have picked up my rambling issue. Happy! Why didn’t you tell me I rambled before we came in here?” he shouted the last part, turning to Happy.  
“Aye sir! Because you wouldn’t shut up long enough for me to say anything, sir!” Happy loudly responded, earning chuckles from most of the members.   
“Well, I suppose that does make sense…” Natsu mused, disappointed at his lack of skill in the art of human communication.  
“Hold on, you were raised by dragons?” Mira asked.  
“Yes, I too am held up on that particular part of your response,” Erza added.  
“Oh, right! Of course! I was raised by dragons, yes. In the future, should I be so inclined, I will add more to that, but seeing as I just got here, I would appreciate it if we could end the questioning of my specific dragons there. Apologies.”  
“Not at all, it’s ok if you don’t want to talk about it. But I bet Mira would-”  
“SHUT UP LISANNA!” Mira yelled back at her.   
“Um, right..” this was all quite confusing for Natsu. Mira’s heart rate would frequently jump whenever Lisanna would change the tone of her voice to that of a teasing nature. ‘I wonder why that is,’ he thought, once against zoning out in continuation of his never ending thoughts.  
“NATSU!” the whole guild suddenly yelled.  
“AH! What! Did I zone out again?”  
Most of the members were laughing at this point, some thought he was messing with them.  
“Yeah, a little bit hehehe…” Lisanna uncomfortably chuckled.  
“Happy! Why didn’t you tell me I zoned out completely whenever I started thinking? More important information you could have told me about!” he shouted.  
“Aye shfir!” Happy’s mouth was once again filled with fish. “(gulp) Because whenever I told you, you were zoned out so you didn’t hear me, sir!”  
“Ah, well that would explain that too, wouldn’t it…”  
A few members were on the floor laughing by now, only Mira, Lisanna, Erza, and Levi were able to reduce their laughter to chuckles and or giggles.  
“Ugh… why does my head hurt so much…”   
“Oh good! You woke up! I do apologize I didn’t mean you hit so hard…” Natsu said.  
“You knocked me out? I don’t remember fighting…” Gray replied trudging over and sitting down.  
“THAT’S BECAUSE THERE WAS NO FIGHT!” Elfman shouted between roars of laughter.  
“Yes, he may have punched you unconscious in one shot before you could cast.” Erza told him.  
“Hmmph… Lucky shot.” Gray mused, as he continued to nurse his wounds. ‘At least he didn’t kill me,’ he thought to himself.  
“Of course,” Natsu added. “You didn’t know the nature of my magic, and I knew the nature of yours. Besides, I had been previously distracted causing you to drop your guard, so if we were to have another match, I’m certain your chances would improve. Though I will say-”  
“Here we go again,” Lisanna said facepalming.  
Makarov was watching the whole thing from the top floor, smiling away. ‘Good work brats,’ he thought. ‘Starting to chip away at his shell.’


	7. The Seventh

[Natsu’s Journal - 1 Week Later]

It’s been a week since I joined Fairy Tail. I’ve started to like it here, actually. I still haven’t taken any missions, but I did get my guild mark. They couldn’t split the color, so I just went with red on my right shoulder. I would have rather had both red and white, but since Draco was the first to teach me magic, I might as well go for him. Plus, all three Strauss siblings already have white marks, no reason to join such a large crowd. Mostly, I have spent the time exploring Magnolia, though I spend at least 2 hours every day interacting with guild members, though that is mostly at Happy’s insistence. He seems to love it as well, and they have all fallen for him. I’m a bit worried that they’ll press him for information about who I am, seeing as I have yet to feel comfortable enough to remove my cloak, but I trust that he won’t talk until I’m ready, or a good reason should arise. He’s been my only family for 3 years, and I his, after all! So far, Gray has challenged me to a multitude of matches. I am frequently able to decline, it seems his stripping is a wonderful way of avoiding conflict, but occasionally I am required to engage. I only use magic defensively though. While Gray is strong, he has a ways to go. I am, however, confident that should he continue to improve, he will join the ranks of Fairy Tail’s finest. I still like the Strauss siblings. I see a bit of my time at Rösch in them, so it’s hard not to. Lisanna is like another little sister, similar to how I view Levi. Elfman is...interesting. I don’t have an opinion on him, but he loves his sisters dearly, so he seems alright I suppose. I am quite partial to Mira...hmmm...Mira doesn’t sound right, maybe I should come up with a nickname? I believe humans do that. Regardless, she and Erza are currently-  
“Natsu?”  
Natsu turned his head from his writing to look up. It was evening now, the only light being the fire Natsu had set up. He and Happy were still camping in the woods, Natsu still hadn’t considered living in a house. It reminded him too much of Rösch, that was the only time he had lived in a house. Besides, aside from that one year, he had spent his almost 15 years of life living outside. Why start living indoors now? Sometimes he missed having a bed, but it wasn’t something that he would dwell on. Living on for Igneel’s wishes and for his orphanage siblings, that’s what he focused on. Not what had happened, but what will happen in the future.  
“What is it, Happy?” He knew exactly what Happy was going to ask, but he just didn’t know yet.  
“When are you going to take off that stupid cloak?” Happy was clearly frustrated. He was glad that Fairy Tail accepted the two of them, and he was accepting of them right back, but Natsu hadn’t quite gotten comfortable yet. “Will you please take it off tomorrow? Spend the day there, you spend all your time exploring the city! You’ve seen everything by now, right?”  
“That’s not true Happy! I spend several hours every day there with you! Just some of the more...social aspects...make me a bit uncomfortable…” Natsu muttered.  
“Natsu…” Happy scolded.   
“Ask me again tomorrow, I’ll tell you then…”  
“Fine! The answer better be, ‘yes Happy! And I’ll buy you all the yummy fishies you want too!’”  
Natsu chuckled, gave Happy a pat on the head, and resumed writing in his journal.  
‘I really hope he takes that stupid thing off tomorrow,’ Happy thought to himself, curling up next to Natsu. ‘If he doesn’t by the end of the week, I’m ripping it off myself!’ And with that, he was asleep.  
‘He’s right, dammit cat!’ Natsu thought to himself, sighing as he packed away his journal. ‘Why are you always right? I really have no idea what I’d do without him…’  
“Thanks, Happy…” he whispered, before curling up around the cat and falling asleep himself. 

[The Next Morning]

“...tsu.”  
“Natsu! Run! I can’t hold him off much longer!”  
“....atsu!”  
“NATSU! STOP IT! YOU’VE GONE TOO FAR!”  
“...Natsu!!!”  
“FOOLISH… (pant) DRAGON.... I…. AM ACNOLOGIA…. THE KING….. OF… DRAGONS!”  
“IGNEEL!” Natsu woke up with a shout, sweating and panting.  
“Natsu! Calm down! It was a dream!” Happy was near tears, hugging fiercely.  
“A...a dream?” he asked, slowly stroking Happy’s head.  
“It’s fine Natsu, you’re gonna be ok…” It had been a while since his nightmares were this bad. Not since they started bounty hunting. They were near relentless his first year, but once he started to find work to pour his heart into, it hardened him, and they slowed down to a stop. Or at least, they weren’t this bad…  
“I’m ok…” Natsu said, releasing Happy. “Let’s have breakfast.”  
The two always ate breakfast in the forest together. Natsu had always had his meals alone in the forest, but Happy decided to start having most lunches and dinners in the guild. He was fine with this of course, but asked Happy to have his breakfasts with him. Happy agreed, and decided getting Natsu to eat with other people could wait at least a little while.  
Happy had dug into his stash of fish, and Natsu decided to have the last of the camping rations he had with him. It was essentially just rice and bits of meat he had cooked previously.  
“So...it was Igneel this time?” Happy asked, before starting on his fish.  
“Yeah...and the...the wings…” Natsu never really knew what to call his slaughter. It was hard to say it was a slaughter, and no name for it sounded right, so he always said something else. Sometimes he said the fires. Sometimes he said the wings. Other times he said things like his ‘trigger’ or his ‘rage’. Happy understood them all, and didn’t press on the topic. How do you name something like that? When you blind yourself in rage and slaughter over 50 people, regardless of who they are? It’s definitely a challenge.  
“Are you ok?”  
“I think so,” he replied, finishing the last of his breakfast. “It’s been a while, but I think that means I’m calming down...It’s weird, but I never had them when I started to lose myself, but if they’ve started again, I must be going soft again.”  
“You’ve always been soft, Pinky!” Happy giggled, finishing his fish as well.  
“HEY! IT’S NOT PINK! AND HALF OF IT WHITE!”  
“Yeah, sure it is.”  
“Hmmph.”  
“So, Natsu?”  
“What is it, Happy?” Natsu knew exactly what he was going to ask.  
“Do I really need to ask again? You promised to tell me!”  
“Fine...I will...Just don’t-”  
“YAYYY! I’LL GO TELL EVERYONE! THIS IS GONNA BE GREAT! NOW OTHER PEOPLE HAVE TO SEE YOUR UGLY FACE TOO! HAHAHAHA!” Happy did a few circles, and flew off.  
“Wait, Happy! Don’t go-”  
“Can’t back out now, Natsuuuu,” but he was already gone, his voice starting to fade out, even to the dragon slayer.  
‘Damn cat,’ Natsu thought, packing his stuff and preparing to head out. ‘I should have waited longer. Who cares anyway, why should they care what he looks like? They’ll probably just ignore him…’   
And so, with his stuff packed, he donned his cloak once again, and headed off to town. He may have relented his use of it at the guildhall, but outside of it was a definite NO! Not only did he not really like being seen, it was dangerous for both him and Fairy Tail. Should anyone discover who he was-  
‘No!’ he thought, nearing the city. ‘Even if I end up telling them I’m the White Crown, I can’t let anyone else find out. They’d be in too much danger…’

[Fairy Tail Guild Hall]

“Time for a morning drink! Gimme my barrel!”  
“Cana, already? It’s 10am!”  
“How long have you known me for?”  
“...I’ll go get it…”  
“Hehehe, that’s what I thought.”  
It was a typical morning for the members of Fairy Tail. Cana was getting her first barrel of wine for the day, Erza and Mira were across the hall staring daggers at each other, and Gray was trying to find his misplaced pants. All in all, very typical. That is, until…  
“EVERYONE! LISTEN!” Happy burst through the doors, shouting.  
“What’s wrong, Happy? Did something happen to Natsu?” Lisanna asked, walking up to the cat.   
“No! He’s fine! I finally got him to agree to take the cloak off, so you guys have to-”  
“REALLY?!” Mira shouted.  
“HE WILL?!” Erza stood up quickly as well.  
“Why do you care what he looks like, fire crotch?”  
“What about you, white wyvern? I’m interested in the developments of a new guild member!” She crossed her arms, and turned away, trying to not blush.  
“Yeah! So am I!”  
Not that they’d admit it, but both were extremely curious as to what he looked like. They had known him a week, A FULL WEEK, and the only thing they’d see were his eyes and his right shoulder. Heck, the only magic they’d seen was the spell he used to punch Gray on the first day, he never used anything that was really visible again.  
“Sure you do, Mira,” her sister giggled and winked. “Though I’m curious too. Why does he cover up like that, Happy?”  
“Er…” Happy stuttered. Once again, he dug himself into a hole. Normally withholding information was much easier, since they didn’t ask multiple times a day.   
“I BET HE’S A REAL MAN!” Elfman shouted.  
“Not everything is about manliness, big brother Elf!” Lisanna replied, walking over to scold her brother.   
‘Well that was close,’ Happy thought flying over to the bar. He had become good friends with Cana, the two of them enjoyed hanging around the bar trying to get stuff for free and making fun of the other guild members. The only problem was he had to abandon their conversation after about an hour when she’d get handsy and pushy about Natsu information, and he wasn’t sure if he could dodge the questions anymore. So far he had already revealed that he had 3 scars, had 2 dragon parents unlike other dragon slayers, not that they were common anyway, and his hair was dual colored. She didn’t believe that last part, and had told him he was a terrible liar. He hoped that she kept things a secret, but still wasn’t entirely sure she wasn’t working for the guild as a spy of sorts. Living with only one other person and hiding his whole life had done crazy things to his imagination.   
“So,” Cana started leaning towards the cat who had landed beside her. “We finally get to see the scruffy dragon boy, eh? Finally gonna see that hair of us, huh,” she added sarcastically.  
“I told you not to say anything! And it’s true, I’m not lying!”  
“Sure thing kitty cat.”  
For the next 15 minutes they continued to talk, laughing at Gray while he looked for various clothing articles he had lost on his way to a table after finding his clothes the last time, joking at why Mira and Erza had their eyes glued to the door instead of on each other, and consuming their personal weaknesses, fish and wine.   
‘Is he ever gonna come in? WAIT! WHY DO I CARE?’ Mira thought to herself.  
‘It’s quite strange, but I am extremely curious as to what he looks like.’ Erza was having a similar dilemma. She didn’t know why exactly she was so curious, but she was, and would continue to be until her curiosity was sated.  
The doors finally opened a few minutes later.  
“Natsu?” Mira asked, standing up.  
“It must be!” Erza replied, also standing.  
“Hey guys! Been a while!”  
“UGH!” Everyone just groaned, and went back to their activities.  
“It’s just Warren! False alarm everyone!” Erza shouted.  
“Good to see you guys too, I guess…”  
“Sorry, Warren!” Lisanna said. “We got a new member last week and apparently he’s finally going to show us what he looks like today! We thought you were him! Some are more excited than others-”  
“LISANNA!” Mira shouted.  
“Wait, the guys’ been here a week and you have no idea what he looks like? Is he invisible or something?”  
“Of course not, silly! He just wears a cloak all the time! If you want to know, you can talk to Happy over there, but he’s pretty secretive. Says he’s not allowed to say too much,” she informed him, gesturing to the blue cat on the corner.  
“I’m supposed to talk to a cat?” Warren asked.  
“Aye, sir!” Happy replied.  
“I leave for one month…” Warren grumbled, heading over to the tables.   
“He is quite strange isn’t he?” Natsu asked him. “That’s not even the-”  
“AHHHH! WHO ARE YOU?” Warren screamed. One moment he was looking at a blue cat, and the next a very mysterious hooded figure was leaning against the wall talking to him.  
“Oh, my name’s Natsu. I just got here last week. Anyway, as I was saying, Happy can fly too. I hatched him from an egg about three years ago. Strange isn’t it? It would almost make him-”  
“Natsu?” Lisanna asked, walking over to the two.  
“Wait, Natsu’s here?” Mira asked, jolting up from her table.  
“When did he…” Erza also seemed shocked, getting up as well.  
“Oh, sorry. I came in behind Warren. You seemed disappointed by something, so I figured I would find out wha-”  
“TAKE OFF YOUR DAMN CLOAK ALREADY!”  
“YEAH! CLOAKS AREN’T MANLY!”  
Everyone was rapt attention on the new member, who was supposedly about to reveal his true appearance.  
“Happy…” he turned.  
“A...Aye?”   
“You’re dead meat later, cat.”  
“Quite stalling, Natsu! Show ‘em your ugly mug!” Happy shouted, giggling.  
“Fine...you owe me big time for this, cat…”  
“Aye, sir!”  
Natsu reached for the cape, preparing to pull it off and then-  
“MORNING BRATS!”  
“UGH! STOP INTERRUPTING, OLD MAN!” Mira groaned.  
“Natsu is about to unveil himself! Cease your blathering, master!” Erza drew her sword, pointing it at Makarov, eyes never leaving Natsu.  
“Is this honestly that important to you guys?”  
“YES!” They all shouted.  
“Very well…” and FINALLY, he took his cloak off. He was wearing his trademark; knee length white pants, a black, gold-trimmed vest that was open at the front, the scarf made from Igneel’s scales, the necklace made from Draco’s talon, and a pair of matching earrings made from the scales of Archon.  
“PFFFFT,” Cana spit out her wine, coughing in shock. “HE REALLY DOES HAVE PINK AND WHITE HAIR!”  
“For the love of...it’s SALMON! Not pink! And why does everyone start with that! I swear, it’s just hair color! I never did understand people’s fixation on that. Heck, even dragons-”  
Natsu continued rambling on, not really paying attention to the entire guild staring at him.   
‘He’s...gorgeous…’ Mira thought to herself.  
‘That scar is huge, but still…’ Erza too was stunned into silence.   
“ALRIGHT, BRATS! HE’S NOT A PIECE OF MEAT! MOVE ALONG!” Makarov roared from the second floor.  
“Oh, I’m sorry Natsu! I didn’t-” Lisanna tried to apologize.  
“Don’t be, I got used to the looks and whispers ages ago. This is the first time I’ve had silence, though I can’t decide whether it was an improvement or not…”  
Natsu walked over and sat down, prepared for another usual day, but not for the barrage of questions he was about to receive. Following him, still not able to formulate a sentence, was Erza and Mira. Lisanna joined them, giggling at her sister’s obvious ogling, and most of the rest of the guild found spaces as close as possible so they could eavesdrop. Levi broke the awkward silence, sitting near Lisanna and beginning the onslaught.  
“So, fan of jewelry, are you?”  
“You could say that, though I consider myself more of a gatherer of trophies more than anything. Not that I consider these trophies really, but I am a collector of sorts.”  
“I love your scarf! Where’d you get it from?” Lisanna asked.  
“It was a gift. I don’t know who made it, but my father asked a friend of his to stitch it together for him.”  
“The...the dragon?”  
“Yes.”  
“Which one,” Cana asked from a table nearby.  
“How did you… HAPPY!”  
“AHHH! SCARY NATSU!” Happy flew away, having joined the table with Lisanna earlier.   
“What did she mean by which one?” Mira asked, finally able to speak.  
“(sigh) Damn cat...I was raised by two dragons. One was white named Igneel, and the other was red named Draco. The scales are from Igneel, but it was Draco’s idea, as he reminded me several times.”  
“TWO DRAGONS?” Erza too, was now able to formulate short confused chains of questioning.   
“Well, that explains the hair, I guess…” Cana muttered.  
“That was my theory too, actually. You see, initially I wasn’t sure, since for obvious reasons they aren’t my-”  
“You’re rambling again, Natsu!” Lisanna said, giggling.  
“Oh, apologies. One of these days, I’ll stop doing that.”  
“No worries, it’s fine! How come you have two of the same scar? Is that some sort of dragon ritual or something?”  
“No, that was two separate incidents, actually. I’m quite lucky to have any eyes left at all.”  
“You got two identical scars…” Mira started.  
“From two separate incidents…” Erza finished.  
“Correct.” Natsu replied.  
“What about the one on your chest? That looks like it hurt!” Levi chipped in.  
“Indeed, that one was my own fault actually.”  
“What happened?” Levi pressed.  
“Uh...well...I got distracted…” Natsu stuttered.  
“What about the jewelry? Where’d you get that stuff? It makes you look feral!” Lisanna asked him. “Would it be too much for me to see the necklace a bit closer?” she added, gesturing to it.  
“Uh, I suppose so…” He said slowly. This was a first for him, not even Happy had held these things before. They were on him at all times. “Just be careful, they’re enchanted, but no one has ever touched them before…”  
“Really? Thanks, Natsu! I feel all special now!” She giggled, reaching and carefully taking the necklace. It was well made. A shimmering silver chain through the center of an enormous...well...she wasn’t sure. It looked like a claw or talon of some kind.  
“So how’d you get it?” Mira asked, taking the necklace from her sister.  
“I had it made from a claw from Draco…” Natsu muttered.  
“Oh…” They seemed to get the message.  
“I thought you said Draco was red, how come your earrings are made from black scales?” Erza asked.  
“These are from a different dragon.”  
There was a sound of coughing and a few surprised gasps throughout the hall.  
“How many dragons did you know?”  
“Personally? Three. I’ve seen five though, I didn’t know this one.”  
“FIVE?” Mira and Erza yelled together.  
“Yes, though honestly I’d rather have stuck to three…” Natsu was suddenly struck with a look of anger, and the air around him started to heat up slightly.  
“Natsu! Why don’t you tell them about your magic!” Happy said, quickly trying to quell the situation.  
“Oh, right. I suppose the cats out of the bag now, isn’t it...What did you want-are you guys ok?”  
Everyone at his table had backed up slightly, all with slight fearful looks on their faces.  
“What the hell was that!” Mira demanded.  
“I must concur with the demon, what just happened.”  
“Oh, right. I didn’t notice. Sorry. My magic can be assisted with emotion, and I seemed to get lost in thought momentarily, and let some of it out…”  
“Right, anyway,” Lisanna was always the conversation shifter. She liked him, but he was a ticking time bomb of things not to bring up. “So you use dragon slayer magic, right? Which dragon taught you magic?”  
“I read a book about dragon slayers a little while ago, it said something about a ‘Dragon Soul Ritual’ that was performed to give magic to a human. Which one gave you theirs?” Levi added.  
“You seem quite well informed, Levi! I was unaware that our customs were so well known by other humans. Anyway, to answer your question, both.”  
“That’s possible?” Levi asked. “It didn’t say anything about that in the book…”  
“Well, it’s likely incomplete, but according to Igneel, it had never been tried. Draco brought me in and proposed the idea. They figured they had nothing to lose and neither did I, so might as well give it a shot.”  
“Wow! That sounds cool! I don’t suppose I could ask you some questions about dragons later, could I?” Levi asked, excitedly.  
“Of course! I always told them I’d write a book about our customs one day, I just haven’t gotten around to it yet. Perhaps I’ll start on that soon…”  
“If you do, I definitely want to read it! I’ll be your first customer!”  
“I appreciate it Levi! I’ll be sure to inform you.”  
“Hold on, if both dragons did this fancy ritual thing, what changed?” Mira asked.  
“Indeed, did your magic power double?” Erza added.  
“I suppose something similar to that, but no. I got both magics. Draco was a fire dragon,” he said holding up his right hand, which was engulfed in orange flames. “And Igneel was the White Fire Dragon King,” he said holding up his left hand, which was engulfed in white flames.  
“WOW! It’s so pretty!” Lisanna was in awe.  
“Indeed, that is quite impressive, Natsu.” Erza added.  
“Oh, it’s really nothing. I should be saying that to you. The only user of ‘The Knight’ in Fiore!”  
“Oh..uh..thank you…” Erza stuttered.  
“Wait, did you say Dragon King???” Mira asked.  
“Indeed. The white flames are only used by the royal white fire dragons. Well, and me, I suppose…”  
“White fire...that sounds familiar…” Levi mused.  
“NO! No, I’m sure it’s nothing at all!” Natsu interrupted quickly. “Is there anything else you’d like to know?”  
“Uh...sure…” ‘Mark that on the list of stuff not to bring up!’ Lisanna thought to herself. “Maybe you could give us a demonstration? I’ll bet Mira would spar with you if you asked herrrr.” Lisanna added, winking at her sister.  
“LISANNA! STOP!” Mira blushed.  
“Hmm, I would not be opposed to a spar with you. I don’t think Mira would be enough of a challenge for you.”  
“WATCH IT GINGER KID!”  
“QUIET DEMON GIRL!”  
“ARMORED ASSHAT!”  
“WINGED WENCH!”  
“Actually, that sounds like a good idea,” Natsu said, ruffling a hand through his hair.  
“Are you gonna spar with mee, Natsu?” Mira asked, leaning towards him.  
“I asked first, do not inject yourself into my matches!”  
“I’m not injecting myself into anything. Natsu would way rather spar with me than someone as weak as you!”   
“SAYS THE BRAND NEW-”  
“Actually,” Natsu interrupted. “I wouldn’t be at all opposed to sparring the both of you.”  
“Fine by me! I’ll go first, but you won’t manage to win that easily!” Erza declared.  
“Why do you get to go first? You won’t even be a warmup!”  
“I had been referring to both at the same time, however if you would like to go one at a-”  
“WHAT?”  
“HE’S GOTTA BE JOKING?”  
“HE WANTS TO GO AGAINST BOTH TOGETHER?”  
“Sorry, did I say something-”  
“I accept your challenge, Natsu! However, you’re going to regret not accepting me by myself!” Erza declared.   
“Yeah! Just ‘cause you’re new, don’t think I’ll go easy on you!” Mira added.  
“Very well. I shall attempt to the best of my abilities to make it an even match. Shall we go outside? I don’t have enough funds left to pay for any damages.”  
“AYE! You gave all my fish money to Makarov months ago!” Happy shouted.  
“That wasn’t your fish money! You didn’t even know I hid it from you! And it was supposed to be anonymous!” Natsu retorted.   
“I’m getting the master! This is gonna be great!” Cana shouted. The only thing that would make her abandon the barrel of wine, a chance to watch a new guy get in over his head and get beaten to a pulp.

[30 Minutes Later - Outside]

“Alright, brats! Rules are simple! Continue until one side gives up or is knocked out! No killing blows or cheap shots! And remember to have fun!”  
The guild had all assembled out back, a betting board had been set up and everyone was excited about the match. Unfortunately for Natsu, the only one betting on him was Happy.  
“I’m gonna use all this money to buy fishies!”  
“In your dreams cat! You’re buying me a barrel when this is over!” Cana retorted. ‘Well this is a new one. Never thought I’d be betting against a cat.’  
“LET THE MATCH BETWEEN NATSU DRAKENEEL AGAINST THE TEAM OF ERZA SCARLET AND MIRAJANE STRAUSS: BEGIN!” Makarov shouted, beginning the match.  
“Requip: Heaven’s Wheel Armor!” Erza shouted, initiating the conflict. “Circle sword!”   
“Interesting! A wide area attack to prepare for an off angle attack by Mirajane, quite clever, however predictable.” Natsu dodged the swords by jumping through the center, and charging past Erza and turning skyward to face Mirajane, who was now in her satan soul form.   
“EVIL EXPLOSION!” She shouted, shooting out an explosive purple blast from her hands.  
“Ah, the famed she-devil of Fairy Tail. Truly a remarkable sight, in power and appearance.” he noted, quickly dodging to the left, preparing for Erza’s chain attack.   
He was correct, and Erza attempted to strike him with her swords, but Natsu was quick on his feet, and dodged them all before catching one wrist and disarming her.  
“Your sword skills are exquisite, Titania! Much better than any other I’ve seen!”  
The fight continued, everyone surprised that he had lasted this long, as he blocked or dodged every blow the two could fire at him.  
“Natshuuuu! This is boring! Can you at least try a little!” Happy whined.  
“HE’S NOT EVEN TRYING?”  
“THAT HAS TO BE A JOKE!”   
The rest of the members were surprised enough that this new kid was still standing, let alone not really trying.  
“Come on Happy, I was just enjoying the view! They are truly exquisite fighters! I never see anyone who’s as good-”  
“Natsu! Stop hitting on them and fight! I want fishies!”  
“I wasn’t….very well...If I don’t have to buy you fish for a while, maybe I won’t go broke…”  
Natsu managed to separate from the two and gain some distance. The two were spread out, Erza currently in her Flame Empress Armor, preparing for his spells, and Mira floating nearby in her Satan Soul Form.  
“I must agree with your cat! While the flattery is...appreciated...this is a match and compliments will not win you such a war!” Erza declared, blushing slightly.  
“Very well, let us begin.” Natsu took a stance. His feet were spread apart, with his right side facing his opponents. He placed a light weight focus on his left leg, his right arm down near his right leg, with his left arm extended in the air. “Fire dragon’s BLITZ!” he called, dashing forward with immense speed.  
‘He’s so fast!’ Mira thought, before taking a punch to the stomach and getting knocked back.  
‘What is this speed!’ Erza thought, barely turning in time to watch Mira get punched in the gut. Before she could even turn, he was behind her and kicked her in the back, sending her flying towards Mira.   
“NO WAY!”  
“HE’S SO FAST!”  
“MY MONEY!”  
The guild was shocked. They could barely even keep up with his speed, there was a thin line of flames that made up his path, but that’s it. All they could see clearly was the after effects of both the strongest women in the guild getting knocked around.   
“Fire Dragon’s ROAARRR!” He shouted, unleashing a torrent of orange flames at the two mages. Erza was hardly affected due to her Flame Empress Armor, but Mira took quite a hit. She had burns on her arms from blocking and a bruise on her stomach was definitely going to form.  
“Not bad Natsu! But you’ll have to do far better than that!” Erza shouted.  
“Not even close, hotshot! Bring it!” Mira taunted.  
“As expected! I may have had to reconsider my opinions of you two had that been enough. Very well, let us continue!”   
The three mages charged each other in a clash and brawled it out. Natsu using his flaming hands and legs to block strikes and deliver his own. He was pushing them back slightly, but Mira managed to get a few solid strikes in and Erza cut his arm slightly.   
“Let’s turn up the heat a bit, shall we?” Natsu said, releasing a bit more of his magical power, causing even the spectators to start sweating.  
“It’s so hot!”   
“This guys’ a monster!”  
“Fire Dragon’s Brilliant Flame!” He called, shooting a fireball at the two.  
Both were pushed back both from the heat he was producing as well as the pressure from the fireball he had thrown.  
“NOT ENOUGH, NATSU!” Erza roared, as she charged forward. She used her fire sword to fire back a few volleys of fireballs at Natsu, though not nearly as big as his own.  
“Lunch! I thought we were having that after the spar?” Natsu asked, gobbling up the flames.  
“He eats fire?”  
“Oh man, I’ve seen it all now!”  
The crowd was almost out of hope for their female warriors.  
“SOUL EXTINCTOR!” Mira shouted, using the distraction of his feast to build up and fire a large black orb of magic.  
“Hmmm...that looks less delicious...let’s end this! Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Crimson Lotus Exploding Flame Blade!” Natsu shouted, releasing streams of fire from his arms, and swirling them around to form a spiral blast of power in front of him. It destroyed the spell immediately, and engulfed the two in flames.  
“AGHHH!”   
“RRRRRRGH”  
When the smoke settles, Mira was out of her satan soul form, her clothes smoking a bit, kneeling on the ground panting. Erza was standing, but clearly running low on power and stamina. She’d likely be out cold if not for her Flame Empress Armor.  
“You’ve both done brilliantly, however any spells stronger than that could seriously injure the two of you.” Natsu said, worried for the two’s safety.  
The two glanced at each other, and nodded. They had been beaten. This guy was too strong.  
“Very well, Natsu. I concede defeat.”  
“Yeah, whatever. You win this round.”  
“FISHIES! WOOHOO! THANKS, NATSU!” Happy shouted, flying in circles around the stunned guild mates. It happened. Their two S-Class females, the Fairy Queen Titania, and the She-Devil Mirajane had been beaten by a newcomer.  
“No way!”  
“He got them both!”  
“He really is a monster!”  
“The winner is: Natsu Drakeneel! Alright, brats! Pay the cat and get back inside!” Makarov announced. ‘I figured as much,’ he thought to himself.   
“Well done to the two of you. Your reputations precede you, truly worthy foes. Also, you may want to...uh...cover up a bit more, Jane. Here, you can use my vest.” He said, handing her his vest.  
“EEEK!” she shouted, grabbing his vest and covering herself. She was still mostly covered, but the fire he had unleashed certainly didn’t leave her clothes in good condition. ‘Did he call me Jane…?’ she wondered, smiling to herself. ‘Jane…I like it...’  
“You are truly a warrior, Natsu! Your strength is quite fearsome, though next time I won’t go so easy on you!”  
Natsu laughed and put a hand on her shoulder. “Of course! I’m sure the next time won’t be so easy for me, but don’t think I’ll hold back too much!” With that, Natsu headed inside after the other guild members, the recently defeated women outside by themselves.  
“UGH!” Mira groaned, falling over. “That guys’ insane!”  
“He truly is impressive. I gave him everything I had, and he managed to burn me through my Flame Empress Armor.”  
“Yeah…” Mira whispered, clutching his vest.

[Later That Afternoon]

At the request of both Happy and Lisanna, Natsu agreed to eat lunch at the guild hall. They had a pleasant conversation about what the missions were like at Fairy Tail, and after a while, Lisanna left to go help her sister patch up a bit. That left Natsu by himself, which he enjoyed nonetheless, and he took the opportunity to write a bit in his journal.  
“What’s that?” Levi asked, sitting on the seat next to him.  
“It’s a journal, I tend to document important things throughout my travels. Call me a trophy hunter I suppose. Though, maybe it helps a bit with my rambling. I frequently get lost in thought, which tends to lead to me talking in a rather circular way-”  
“Like you’re doing now?” Levi giggled.  
“Yes...that would...be a good example…” Natsu muttered.  
“You have white flames too, right? Why didn’t you use those? I figured they’d be stronger than your orange ones.” she asked him. It’d been on her mind since the fight ended. She saw first-hand that he was able to use some sort of white fire, but didn’t use it a single time during the match.  
“I do indeed! However, those flames are much more dangerous. If the opponent cannot protect themself properly from the orange flames, the worst is a nasty burn. However, the white flames could melt flesh off you and do serious damage, so avoid using those unless necessary. A spar is no place for permanent disfigurement, right?” Natsu replied.  
This was even more of a shock to Levi. “So...you were going easy on them?”  
“Well...a little...I didn’t want to hurt anyone. They are both extremely talented wizards, and can definitely take a hit, but the white flames are not something to be toyed with.”   
“I...I see…” As surprising as this was, some part of her had already guessed that. He did say they were some kind of royal flames or something. “So, could I ask you a few questions about dragons now?”  
“Ask away!”   
And that’s how Natsu spent his afternoon, chatting with Levi about anything and everything dragon related. Though he never answered her questions on what happened to his dragons, which she found rather strange. She guessed that Draco had likely died, and perhaps Igneel too, but the black scales and the events surrounding the two’s lack of presence were surrounded in mystery. Maybe one day, he’d tell her. But that day was not today...


	8. The Eighth

“Salamanders?” Natsu asked, walking over to the request board.  
It had been a few days since Natsu’s legendary bout with Erza and Mirajane, who had now dubbed her ‘Jane’, because as he had told her, ‘giving nicknames is a human custom, isn’t it?’ and he was now quite popular among guild members. While he didn’t enjoy the attention all too much, it was acceptable to have someone to talk to. However, much to his and everyone else’s displeasure, the added experience did not help his rambling problem. Most of them could only tolerate it for half an hour at most before abandoning the conversation, tired of having to interrupt every sentence, but he maintained good relations with them nonetheless. Lisanna, Mirajane, and Erza were the only three that were seemingly not bothered by the habit. Lisanna insisted that she would try to help him, since he repeatedly expressed his displeasure at his circular and confusing thoughts, while Erza and Mirajane claimed it didn’t bother them. When they were done listening to his rant, they’d just carry on as if he had stopped talking anyway.  
Today, however, he had been left mostly by his lonesome. Erza and Mirajane decided to brawl about someone, though he wasn’t sure who they were talking about, and Lisanna had left a few days ago on a mission. It was then that he heard muttering by the request board about salamanders. He walked over to investigate; it’d been a long time since he tangled with any dragonkin, and salamanders had been his favorite food since he was a child.  
“Excuse me, Nab? Was it? Did you say something about Salamanders?” Natsu asked.  
“Oh, hey Natsu! Yeah, new request today. Apparently, some farms a few towns south of here have a problem with them. It’s the first sighting of those beasts in a while, but they found two of ‘em, and they’re eating up all the livestock.”  
“Were you planning on taking the job, or would you be inclined to allow me?”  
“Sure thing! I’m still waiting on a request that’s more suited for me,” Nab replied, handing the request to Natsu.  
“Is that why you’ve spent almost two weeks in front of the board?”  
“Uh…” Nab stuttered, a little embarrassed he had been noticed.  
“Well, I’m sure something will come along. Good luck to you,” Natsu said, taking the request to his table to read it.   
WANTED: Assistance dealing with two wild salamanders  
Description: Two extremely large salamanders have been sighted from the mountains near our town, and they have been decimating our livestock population. Please help us to be rid of them! Be warned: These beasts are VERY dangerous and shoot fire from their mouths!  
Reward: 500,000  
Natsu was reading the request, seemingly very interested, when he was approached by the two previously brawling S-Class wizards.  
“Are you going on a job Natsu?” Mira asked him, sitting down on one side.  
“Yes, it has been quite some time since you’ve joined. It’s good to see you getting a start,” Erza added, sitting on the other side.  
“Indeed! Good to see you both, Erza, Jane. Glad you’re getting along today,” Natsu nodded, greeting both women. “I wasn’t planning on going out any time soon, but I happened to notice this request of salamanders down south, and it’s been a long time since I’ve had any.”  
“What do you mean, ‘had any’?” Mira asked him, still not entirely used to the new nickname.  
“What exactly is a salamander anyway?” Erza added. “I believe I’ve heard of them, yet I don’t know precisely what they are.”  
“You don’t? Well, salamanders are a type of dragonkin. And by ‘had any’ I mean eaten or consumed,” Natsu explained.   
“A DRAGON?” Erza and Mira shouted together.  
“No, not a dragon,” Natsu sighed. “DragonKIN. Essentially, they are distantly related to dragons, but they themselves aren’t dragons. Honestly, those scaly things only wish they were dragons. An interesting theory isn’t it? I do wonder if animals think that way. Could one animal-”  
“I’m still confused,” Mira interrupted. “They’re related to dragons, but you eat them? Is that possible?”  
“I’m still intrigued at what sort of monster they are. A dragon type monster is definitely strange,” Erza added.  
“Well for starters, yes. I’ve eaten salamander a few times, but they are extremely rare. It’s been roughly 5 years since I’ve had any, and honestly, I’ve never personally hunted one before, so this should be new for me. And to answer your question, Erza,” Natsu continued turning to face her. “Salamanders are very large red creatures that look exceedingly lizard-like. They are able to use low-level fire magic and have incredibly powerful claws and teeth. The fire magic they use is similar to a dragon or dragon slayer’s breath attack, such as mine, but is much weaker. Maybe that’s why I enjoy eating them so much. Funny, isn’t it? They both are delicious food and attack with delicious food! Imagine something doing that for a normal human. Attacking with-” and he continued to ramble about a potential monster being both tasty and attacking with human food such as rice or scrambled eggs.  
“A fire-breathing lizard, huh?” Mira said, eyeing Erza. “I bet you’ll need some help with that,” she told him, leaning towards him.  
“Indeed he will! I shall volunteer to accompany Natsu on his first mission!” Erza announced standing.  
“I appreciate the gesture, however-” Natsu tried to explain.  
“What makes you think he wants to go with a weakling like you?” Mira demanded, also standing up and slamming her fist on the table. “I’ll go with him! He could use real backup, not a stuck-up priss who he’ll have to rescue.”  
“Take that back, you HARLOT!” Erza shouted, slamming her head together with Mira’s.  
“IN YOUR DREAMS, GINGER!” Mira retorted, pressing her head against Erza’s.  
“CEASE THIS NONSENSE!” Natsu shouted, shushing both of them and the entire guild in the process.  
“Natsu, I thought we talked about this! No one likes scary Natsu!” Happy told him, fluttering over to him, trying to ease the tension of the trembling guild members.  
“I’m not-” he tried to say, before looking at the others who had terrified looks on their faces. “Right...apologies...As I was trying to say, I had planned to go with just Happy, however, since both of you seem very inclined to see a Salamander you may both join me on one condition.”   
“Of course!” Erza said.  
“What is it?” Mira asked, eyeing him suspiciously.   
“You follow my instructions and get along!”   
“That’s two things, however, I am quite interested in seeing a salamander,” Erza said, pondering his request.  
“I don’t know, maybe I’ll do it for you, Natsu,” Mira replied, winking at him.   
“Silence, wench!” Erza shouted.  
“BRING IT, ARMOR BITCH!” Mira retorted.  
“Well, someone’s popular,” Happy giggled to Natsu.   
“It seems as though they are both quite interested in the salamander,” Natsu mused. “I charge you with keeping them safe, Happy. It may be more difficult than you expect,” he added, gesturing to the brawl that was currently taking progress on the guild floor.  
“Aye, sir!” Happy responded, giving a salute.  
“Take the backpack, Happy. I shall attend to our two carry-ons,” Natsu told him, handing off the backpack and donning his cloak. “Let us depart immediately!” With that, he blocked the attacks from both wizards, hoisted them over his shoulders to their extreme displeasure, and walked out the door.  
“Did he just-?”  
“Yeah, he just carried those two with him…”  
“That guys' something else…”  
The guild members had witnessed the display, pleased that Natsu was finally going on a mission, but quite terrified that the newcomer was strong enough to easily subdue and, apparently, capture both of their strongest female members.

[2 Hours Later - On The Train]

“Ugh..blargh…” Natsu was groaning, nearly passed out on the floor, desperately trying not to vomit.   
“Uh, Natsu? Are you ok?” Happy asked.  
“Yes, you seem rather...ill…” Erza added, glancing at Mira who just shrugged.  
“This...ugh...death machine...blarf...what is it doing to me!” Natsu muttered, holding his stomach.  
“It’s just a train, what’s wrong with a train?” Mira asked, still confused at why the new fire mage, who she definitely did not have a crush on, was currently writhing around on the ground trying not to hurl.   
This was the first time Natsu had ever ridden on a vehicle before, so he was not used to the effects of motion sickness, nor did he have any idea what was going on. He had been ok with Happy and on the back of both Igneel and Draco, but this was new. And he’d be damned if he’d do it willingly again.  
“It feels….blarf...so awful...argh…” he groaned.  
“I think Natsu’s dying! Someone do something!” Happy cried, flying in circles.  
“Relax, hairball,” Mira told him. “It just looks like motion sickness. It’s pretty lame, but he’s not dying.”  
“For once the harlot makes a point,” Erza said, placing a finger on her chin. “He did mention having enhanced senses, right? Perhaps the train is distorting his sense of balance.”  
“Never…ugh...again...I’m gonna be sick...hrrrrhgh.”

[Several Hours Later - Pedaltown]

“Never again, I still feel like death…” Natsu muttered, finally allowed off that death trap.   
“That’s so lame!” Mira groaned. ‘I kinda feel bad for him though,’ she thought to herself. ‘I mean, he’s a super-powerful wizard, and incredibly smart, but he steps on a train and all that goes to hell.’  
“Sweet, merciful ground! I shall never again go without your sweet embrace!” Natsu cried, laying flat out, his cloak sprawled out around him.  
“Right…” Erza said.  
“Get a move on, Natsu! We have a job to do!” Happy told him. “If salamander is half as good as a fishie, I can’t wait!”  
“Indeed it is, I dare say it is far better than a fishie!” Natsu declared, suddenly up and returned to his normal self, that being mysterious, aloof, and difficult to follow.  
“Yes! Let us proceed! The client is the mayor, I believe his office is the large one over there,” Erza said, gesturing to the large building on the far side of town.  
“Why do we need to go to a client’s house? That breaks the secrecy code, doesn’t it?” Natsu asked.  
“What are you talking about?” Mira asked, even more confused than she was when Natsu didn’t seem to understand why they were taking a contraption called a train. “What is a secrecy code?”  
“Umm...nevermind...I shall follow you three, and wait outside.”  
“What exactly were you doing before you got to Fairy Tail?” Mira questioned. “If you didn’t take quests, where did you get all that money in the first place? Did you steal it?” she drawled sarcastically, eyeing him.   
“I did no such thing! I did, uh, other work...That’s not important! Onwards!” Natsu declared, hurrying towards the building Erza had gestured towards, leaving the two girls confused.

[One Hour Later]

“What do you mean you’ll wait out here?” Mira questioned. “This is part of a quest, you have to get the information from the client.”  
“How could I do that! The client shouldn’t know who works for him! That’s dangerous for both parties!” Natsu declared, turning away.  
“So you think it’s dangerous, but you’re gonna let us go in all by ourselves?” Mira asked with a pout.  
“Well, that’s not…” Natsu stuttered. He sighed, “Fine. I shall accompany you. However, you are not to give out my name. If he asks, you may call me ‘N’.”  
“What kinda name is ‘N’, Natsu? Is that the only letter you know?” Happy giggled.  
“Quiet, cat! I have no intention in being so forward with my identity to complete strangers!”   
“Very well, but you will tell me what you did before joining Fairy Tail when we return!” Erza demanded.  
“Me too! Don’t leave me out! The ginger queer doesn’t deserve to know anyway,” Mira whined.  
“Silence, harlot!” Erza shouted.  
“I thought I made it clear you two were to get along!” Natsu demanded and grabbed each one by the shoulder. “I intend to not be responsible for the downfall of two of the strongest members of Makarov’s family. Let us proceed, or you two can return home accompanied by Happy.”  
“What did I do?” Happy cried.  
“Fine…” Erza said.  
“Hmmph!” Mira pouted, crossing her arms and turning away.  
“What am I going to do with the two of you,” Natsu muttered and headed inside. 

[That Evening - Pedaltown’s Farmland]

“I still can’t believe you told him your name was N, Natsu!” Happy said, laughing. “His face was priceless!”   
“I must concur, Happy. His face was quite amusing,” Natsu replied.  
The three mages and Natsu’s furry companion were sat around a fire having dinner and preparing to camp for the night.   
“Natsu...why don’t you want people to know your name?” Mira questioned. “I know you’re a little more...private...than most people, but you wouldn’t even show us your face for a week! Do you really not trust us?”  
“It’s not that at all, Mira! In fact, you two are some of the ones I trust the most as of now,” Natsu replied, causing both girls to blush and Happy to giggle. “It’s just...very dangerous for me and the guild if I was very forthcoming with who I was…”  
“Why is it dangerous?” Erza asked, finishing up her share of the food. “I understand some level of secrecy, even I have my own, but I think we should be aware of something that requires such extreme measures…”  
“Oh just tell them, Natsu! What’s the worst that could-” Happy tried to say.  
“They could be killed, Happy. You could be killed. That is the worst that could happen. I suppose I could be killed as well, but that's if we're lucky.”  
Both girls were shocked at this, but also a little unnerved. He had said that if people knew who he was, one of three things could happen. Nothing, being the best case, he would die, being his second preference, or they would die, being the worst possible outcome.   
“Natsu…” Mira asked, scooting over towards him. “I think you should tell us...It might help to get it off your chest…”  
“I must agree with Mira,” Erza added, eyeing Mira and scooting over herself placing a hand on his shoulder. “No good comes from struggling alone. If you feel inclined, I shall tell you my story as well…”  
Mira gasped. No one knew what had happened to Erza, and she had been at Fairy Tail for several years now. She just beat up anyone who asked her about it.  
“I appreciate it, but-”  
“Natsu...I already convinced you with Makarov…” Happy told him, angrily. “You don’t have to talk about that, but at least tell them what happened after we escaped. That’s not too bad.”   
Erza and Mira both eyed each other. ‘How much more is there?’  
Natsu scratched his head slightly, looked at the fire, and sighed. He stuck his legs out and laid back, followed on either side by Erza and Mira, and began to speak.  
“Stupid cat…” he muttered. “Neither of you may utter a single word of what information is about to come out of my mouth, for ANY reason. Is. That. Understood?” he almost growled, looking at both of them, who each nodded, shaken slightly by his tone.   
“Down, boy!” Happy giggled.  
“(sigh) I was...a bounty hunter…” Natsu said, pausing for a moment.  
“That’s it?” Mira asked, shocked that he would be so private for something like that. “There are lots of bounty hunters. As long as you don’t go flaunting it, you should-”  
“No, there’s more to it. I was a very well known bounty hunter. Last I checked, I have a 10 million jewel bounty on my head, and that was a little over 4 months ago…”  
Both girls gasped.  
“Te-ten…” Erza stuttered.  
“M-million??” Mira finished.   
“Indeed. I must insist that I never took assassination requests, I spent two years in the business, all told I probably took twenty or thirty requests. I lost count after the first few. It takes a lot of your humanity away…” Natsu whispered, a little shaken remembering. “It’s almost like an addiction...I needed something to distract myself, and that was something to do...I was able to just unleash without worrying about any consequences...It was great training too, I might add...Though I suppose none of that would make sense unless you knew why I needed to train.”  
“Wow, you’re going to tell them that too?” Happy asked, shocked he would be so open.   
“Yes and no. Not that but everything else. I have chosen four people, a sort of legacy so to speak, not that I consider myself worthy of a legacy or anything, but-”  
“I’m honored that you would trust me so highly, Natsu,” Erza told him.  
“Yeah...it really means a lot..” Mira whispered, slowly scooting closer to him.  
“Very well, let us start at the beginning. I do not know when exactly I was born, nor do I know where, but as to what I was told, one of my fathers, Draco, took me from a village that had been destroyed by the black dragon Acnologia to live and train with him and his brother, the White Fire Dragon King Igneel…” Natsu began his story, continuing about what he had learned from his dragons. He described the battle where they’d both been killed and the story of crafting his jewelry. After that part, both were in tears, modesty all but forgotten, as they hugged Natsu fiercely, snuggling up to his warmth. He continued on his story at the village of Rösch, and how he met Happy and found enjoyment in his life again. Until that is, they were taken from him. By a group that worshipped the same being that murdered his fathers in front of him.  
“I...lost myself...I pledged that very day to kill Acnologia...I was created on this earth to kill that menace, and I will never stop breathing until that happens...I trained for a year, following that day, before I found out about a way to train and make money without having any requirements or responsibilities, and that was in bounty hunting. It made a lot of money, and I was good at it so I continued...The reason I don’t like to tell anyone is because of who I was…”  
Erza and Mira were both crying and wrapped around him, Happy laid on his chest tearing up as well, remembering his time with Treya, Parker, Cindy, and Ashley.  
“It’s my own fault, I just can’t help myself from keeping a trophy,” Natsu mused. “And if I can't physically take one, I’ll mark it as something I claimed...I was known as The White Crown…”  
Both girls gasped.  
“Y-you’re…” Erza started, getting up and eyeing him.  
“The White Crown?” Mira was somehow shouting at the volume of a barely audible whisper.  
“Indeed,” Natsu replied. “The flaming white assassin, who murdered countless dark mages. Those are exaggerated, of course. Not that I deny them, but I was by no means an assassin. Many were killed by my hands, but I never intended to. My goal was capturing live targets, they simply interrupted my information gathering.”  
“That actually...explains a lot,” Mira said, lowering herself back down. “I-I’m sorry, Natsu…”  
“Yes...truly…” Erza added.  
“Nonsense, it’s my own fault.” He was a little confused as to why they were both wrapped around him, but he was always tactile anyway, so he enjoyed it. ‘I thought humans didn’t like this sort of thing,’ Natsu thought to himself. “Why don’t you two get some sleep, salamanders hunt at daybreak, so I’ll wake you guys then…”  
So the three dozed off, Natsu keeping to a light sleep as per usual, prepared for any signs of an impending threat, but there seemed to be none. There they lay, dozing off in nature with nothing but a simple orange fire and the clothes on their backs.  
The next morning, Natsu arose just before the sun and woke the two girls up. They had a quick breakfast, no one bringing up the topics from the previous night but seemingly staying much closer to Natsu, and prepared to head out. They found a section in the forest overlooking the livestock that the mayor had told them was the salamanders’ most common hunting ground.  
“Stay extremely quiet,” Natsu told them. “Salamanders, while not quite as keen as dragons, still have senses stronger than most animals, and if not for the wind, would be able to smell our presence before even getting close.”  
They didn’t have to wait long before Natsu turned out to be right. Right as the sunrise was coming out of its midway point, two enormous red lizards came crawling out towards the sheep.  
“THAT’S A SALAMANDER?” Mira whispered.  
“THEY’RE HUGE!” Erza added under her breath.  
“Yes, now hush! You two stay here, I’m going to try to set up a pincer,” Natsu informed them and quietly headed off. “I’ll signal you two when I’m ready, just be very careful. And if I need to use white fire, BACK AWAY!”  
Both girls nodded their heads, not particularly wanting to be another victim of the famed ‘White Crown’, and watched as he left along with Happy.  
“I still can’t believe that’s him,” Mira whispered. “I thought the White Crown was like, some serial killer that chose dark guilds so he wouldn’t be arrested or something.”  
“I can’t say I knew myself,” Erza replied. “He’s a bit strange, but you’d never know he had a reputation for brutality by looking at him.”  
“Didn’t Happy mention something they didn’t tell us?” Mira questioned.  
“Indeed. Honestly, I’m not sure I could handle whatever it is, considering what he was willing to share,” Erza replied.  
“He also said he chose four, but I think we’re the first two. Who else do you think he picked?”  
“I can’t say I know for sure. I believe Makarov knows his story, so that could be one of them. He seems quite fond of Lisanna, they seem almost like siblings, so maybe her?” Erza guessed.  
“Maybe…”   
“RAAAGHHHHHH!” The conversation was suddenly cut short as one of the salamanders let loose an enormous roar, and looked directly at where the two were hiding. The two lizards were gigantic and covered in shimmering red scales. The smaller one was 20-feet from snout to tail and the larger one looked to be closer to 25.  
“Erza! Jane! GET DOWN!” they heard Natsu yell from across the field. They just barely ducked when a mess of flames was sent crashing above their prone bodies.  
“I almost forgot those freaks breathe fire!” Mira groaned.  
“REEEEGHHAAA!” The two looked up and watched in shock as Natsu was wrestling with one of the beasts, as it roared and squeaked in pain. His entire body was engulfed in orange fire, while the other one took a moment to process. Happy was flying above taunting all three of them.  
“Come on, Natsu! Is that all you’ve got! These lizards are pathetic!”  
“Quiet, Happy! I’m working on it! ARGH!” Natsu suddenly shouted as the other salamander managed to scratch his back slightly, causing him to bleed.  
“NATSU!” That broke the trance of the two females hiding, and they prepared to engage.  
“NO! BACK UP!” Natsu shouted back, who stopped suddenly confused.  
“But-” and that was as far as she got before Natsu jumped off the salamander and kicked the one that had nicked him in the face, forcing the two on opposite sides of him. Natsu inhaled and took a stance, leaving his left-hand flat pointed to the floor and his right flat and pointed to the sky.  
“O’ flames that burn white with holy light, let yourself be free. White Fire Dragon King’s FLAMING TWISTER!” he shouted, releasing a torrent of white fire from each hand. The girls watched in awe as a tornado or shimmering white flames whirled around him, the salamanders screeching and howling in agony. After about 5 seconds, the tornado stopped, and the dust began to settle. Natsu was standing facing them with his eyes closed, maintaining his stance, with the two salamanders on either side of him. The smaller one was dead, it was quite obvious. The larger one was on the verge of death, his scales were covered in burns, but weren’t starting to melt off as his friend’s were. Natsu calmly walked over to the barely living lizard, and thrust a flaming hand through his chest, ripping out a now cooked heart, killing it instantly. Once again, a bloodless bloodbath.  
“Attaboy, Natsu!” Happy shouted, landing on his head after the air had cooled a bit.  
Both Erza and Mira stood wide-eyed and in shock. The ground was charred. The smaller reptile, who breathed fire, was melting. They had just watched Natsu rip the heart out of an animal clinging to life.  
“That was…” Mira whispered.  
“The White Crown…” Erza finished.  
Once they broke out of their trance, they ran over to Natsu, scolding him for doing things without them, and bandaged his cut. It wasn’t too bad, he insisted, but it was bleeding so they took care of it anyway.  
“You two take that one, and I’ll carry this one,” Natsu said, gesturing for them to take the smaller one while he’d take the larger one. He proceeded to grab the two front legs, sling them over his shoulder, and started to haul it back to the city. The girls looked at each other and shrugged. ‘If he can do it, I can do it!’ they both thought, and grabbed a leg. This thing was HEAVY! It took all they had just to get that thing moving at all.   
“How...can you...LIFT THIS STUPID THING!” Mira finished collapsing in exhaustion. They had been walking for only an hour, and she was past done carrying it.  
“I must...agree…” Erza panted, joining Mira on the ground. “This must...weigh...a thousand pounds or more…”  
“Indeed,” Natsu said, turning to the two of them. “This one I have is the third largest one I’ve ever seen.”  
“THEY GET EVEN BIGGER!” They both shouted at the same time.  
Natsu sighed and gave them both some water that he had on him, which they both happily guzzled down. “Of course!” Natsu proceeded to tell the stories of all the times he had had salamander, from their sizes to his attempts to lift them, and even how he failed to find one every time he convinced either dragon to let him go hunt, every time swearing he’d get the biggest one they’d ever seen. They carried on like that for a few minutes, before Natsu decided they better get a move on.  
It took them 2 more hours, and three more 10-minute breaks, before finally arriving back at Pedaltown. Natsu put his cloak back on during their most recent stop, and both girls collapsed upon reaching the city.  
“Finally…” Mira panted. “We’re...here…”  
“That took...forever…” Erza added. “Did we really...have to bring them...with us?”  
“What, and not get to enjoy them? Plus, we can probably double our reward! One salamander is worth a fortune if you know what to do with it, let alone two!” Natsu explained, telling them about how the claws, similar to his own, could be made into necklaces. The scales were often ground to powder for potions, though the smaller ones were mostly melted away and couldn’t be used for that anymore. The meat was delicious, though Natsu said he wanted at least one of them for himself, and even the bones were collector's items.  
“I thought you said you’ve never hunted salamander yourself before?” Erza asked him, finally recovering.  
“I haven’t but I‘ve learned a lot over my years across Ishgar, and I learned a lot about Dragonkin from Igneel,” Natsu explained. “I’ll go get some items to carve, one of you collect our reward and the other can stay here and guard our merchandise. I doubt very much anyone could carry it away, but people might be a bit concerned or try to steal a claw or two if we just leave it here. Happy! You’re with me, lil’ buddy!” And with that, he set off.  
The rest of the day was spent disassembling their catch, Natsu taking extra precision in showing them exactly how to carve so as to not damage the creature, or as he called it, ‘his trophies.’  
“So,” Natsu began, wiping off a bit of sweat. They had just finished the last bit. The bones were piled high, the scales filled two wheelbarrows, and the meat filled three. Natsu had collected the talons and laid them separately to avoid damage. “You guys get the first pick.”  
Mira decided to take three talons and a handful of scales, Erza doing the same. Natsu decided to keep five talons, a handful of scales, a bone from each, and a fang from each. They decided one wheelbarrow of meat would be taken back to the guild, and whatever else they couldn’t eat they’d sell to the local shop owners. They had a pleasant evening, talking about what each of them were going to do with their trophies, enjoying the meat and each other's company. It’d been the longest Mira and Erza had ever gone without trying to kill each other, and they had a blast.  
“I must admit, Natsu,” Erza said between bites. “You were quite right. This is one of the best meals I’ve ever had.”  
“See? I’m glad you like it though. I can’t help but drool just thinking about these delicious creatures.”  
“Only you look at a thousand-pound fire breathing monster and get hungry, Natsu,” Mira informed him, rolling her eyes. “But, I guess it is really good.”  
“Well, I suppose the She-devil and Titania may have to join me in that regard!” Natsu said laughing.  
“We didn’t do anything, Mr. Salamander,” Erza said. “You took them down before we could even get there!”  
“I suppose so.”  
They decided to stay the night in the forest again and were getting ready to doze off for the night, once again huddled together, Mira on Natsu’s left side and Erza on his right, when Natsu spoke.  
“I must thank you both...I was a little...nervous...to work with others. Even Happy’s never been on a job with me before, but I enjoyed it immensely. Thank you.”  
“Don’t be ridiculous, Natsu!” Mira said. “I had a great time, even if I had to share it with that red-haired mongrel.”  
“Watch it, wicked witch! Though I must agree, this has been one of my favorite missions that I’ve completed since joining Fairy Tail. We should continue working together from time to time…” Erza finished.  
“I agree…” Natsu whispered, starting to doze off. “I agree…”  
The next day, they woke up, had more salamander for breakfast, and headed off to town. They managed to sell a full cart worth of meat before they were asked to leave, and they took the train back, only at the insistence that the meat would spoil if they walked. After spending the entire trip begging someone to kill him, they arrived back at Magnolia with their spoils of war. On the way back, they managed to sell the last of what they weren’t going to bring to the guild, that being the bones, the remaining claws and teeth, and a wheelbarrow full of meat. They arrived at Fairy Tail in high spirits and celebrated the success of the mission. Everyone enjoyed the meat and thanked Natsu for sharing, to which he modestly declined the thanks insisting that it was the idea of Mira and Erza. Regardless, they spent the rest of the day and most of the night celebrating, eating salamander meat, and enjoying the company of each other.  
Natsu had staked his claim, albeit unofficially, on a plot of land outside of town and started his trophy collection there, arranging his spoils in a pleasing way. He planned to buy the land eventually, but for now, it was enough to just protect it himself. He left the party in the early evening, exhausted not from the haul, but from the immense amount of social interaction he had been forced into that day.  
“Remind me to not attend any more parties, Happy,” Natsu said falling over on his sleeping mat.  
“You loved it, Natsu,” Happy told him, curling up on top of him, and the two fell into a slumber.  
Meanwhile, back at the guildhall, the members were grilling Erza and Mira for information about the new member.   
“What was he like?”  
“How strong was he?”  
“Did he really take both of them down himself?”  
“How much did they weigh again?”  
It was question after question, before the fearsome duo decided they’d had enough and scared the curious mages away. They each had their own plans for the night, which may or may not have involved making jewelry that reminded them of a certain fire mage who had lived through hell but came out alright.  
‘It was a pleasant few days,’ Mira thought to herself, settling in her bed for the evening.  
‘I’ll definitely have to spend more time with him,’ thought Erza, going to sleep herself.  
And that they would. Over the next few years, Natsu’s time at Fairy Tail was spent separating the two feuding females, alternating who got to join him on missions, though sometimes he snuck out alone, and enjoying the company of Lisanna and Levi. Lisanna was his little sister, he loved her dearly and always brought her little trinkets or items from his missions. Levi was similar, but she was the only one who he could talk about books to, so that’s what they talked about for the most part. He’d bring her any of the books he found that he thought may interest her, and she gave him the ones that she had finished. The two even worked on a book together, about dragons, dragon slayers, mating (much to Levi’s embarrassment), and everything else dragon-related they could think of. It took them 2 years, but it was worth it, and Levi decided she would hang onto the copy for a while, not comfortable with having it published. Natsu agreed, and they decided that one day they’d publish it, but that day was certainly far off… Overall, it was a pleasant few years, but of course, not everything was perfect...


	9. The Ninth

[Natsu’s Journal - X782]

It’s officially been one year since I’ve joined the guild! Honestly, I’m a bit on edge since last time I was happy for a year, everyone around me was killed. No! I won’t think of things like that! Fairy Tail is my family, and I’m strong now. I’m strong enough that should a threat arrive, I can protect them. Anyways, over the past year there are several things I should note. I purchased the plot of land I previously claimed, and built a small cottage. Nothing fancy, just a kitchen, a living area, a bathroom, and a bedroom, though I rarely use that last one. Next, and perhaps most importantly, was I passed the S-class trials. I honestly had no interest, but Jane and Erza were both very persistent. Also, about a month prior to the trials, I met the man considered to be Fairy Tail’s ace, a man by the name of Kael. He and Gildarts are two of the strongest, but Gildarts is never around, and I’ve only spoken to him once. Kael uses a magic called Soul Arts, which is a type of body enhancement magic. I don’t quite understand the logistics of it, but apparently it has the ability to use life force in exchange for power if in critical situations. He told me he’d only ever used that twice though, so apparently if used properly, it’s not too big of a deal. We sparred once, at the demand of nearly everyone in the guild, and it turns out he is quite the worthy foe. I believe I could have one had I used Igneel’s flames, however, without them I didn’t stand too much of a chance and he beat me, only taking a few hits in the process. Credit where credit is due, I suppose. I started working on a book with Levi recently. I don’t know when we’ll finish, but in between the missions I take, as well as my personal absences I take every few months, we work on it when we have the time. Everything she’s learned and everything I know is going to be put in there, and we’re both very excited. In the end, I sort of had to tell her about what happened to my dragons, though I swore her to secrecy. That makes 5 people in the guild who know my life prior to Rösch, three who know after, and one who knows about my...rampage...I told Lisanna about the dragons as well and she was so sweet about it, it reminded me of Treya. I miss her the most...I suppose only two other things have changed in the past year; I got a nickname from my first mission, ‘The Mysterious Dual Salamander,’ quite honestly I like it, at least better than ‘The White Crown,’ and I seem to have been dubbed the Erza and Mira separator by the guild. Any time they start brawling, they all look to me for assistance. The best way to deal with it is to take them on missions interchangeably, but I still manage to sneak away to do a few on my own, though most of those are bounty jobs. I know I should stop, and Happy always threatens to tell them where I go, I just can’t help it. Every time I think about the past, I just need something to throw my mind into, and the legal jobs don’t help as much. I think Erza and Jane have an idea of what I’m doing, and Happy and Master Makarov undoubtedly know, but maybe I’ll kick the habit for good eventually….  
Natsu was happy. Happy was happy. It’d been a long time since they felt that way, but the two truly enjoyed the time they spent at Fairy Tail, and Natsu enjoyed having multiple places he could move around outside of his cloak. It was and always would be his safe zone, but it got tiring to wear at times. Sometimes he just wanted to feel air on his skin, rather than through an old cloak from his past.   
Today, Natsu was going to meet for his first S-Class mission, with none other than the guild’s ace Kael. As Natsu had written earlier, Kael was a practitioner of Soul Arts. Normally, this was simply a special type of advanced body enhancement magic, that would use magic to strengthen his physical body, making punches, kicks, jumps, and running speed a heck of a lot better. Soul Arts, however, was both naturally the strongest, and had the option of using life force as a ranged magical weapon of mass destruction, should a dire situation arrive. Without using life force, Kael had the ability to level an army with a single strike, cut through solid steel with his kicks, and create craters should he jump. Rarely did he need to use maximum power, but the option was there should he so desire it.   
Over the short time the two had known each other, they had taken quite a liking to each other. Natsu, while not fully ready to speak to him about his past, trying to limit that as much as possible, still trusted and respected Kael, in both mind and body. The two spent almost all their time together, much to Erza and Mira’s quiet displeasure, and found themselves with a near father-son-esque bond. His personality reminded him a lot of Igneel, always knowing exactly what to say in any circumstance. He had great wisdom, and would frequently share thoughts about the world with Natsu. Natsu loved to ponder things, and now that he had someone else to ask questions, spent a great deal more time thinking than he ever had before, and he loved it.   
“Natsu! Let’s go! Don’t keep Kael waiting!” Happy shouted.  
It was late morning, and the two agreed to meet Kael at the train station. Every time he rode that dreaded death chamber of a car, he swore to the great sky dragons above that he’d never ride it again, but he almost always did. It was simply far too convenient. They were headed to a town called Dahlia, named for the beautiful pink flowers that were known to grow there in the springtime, to help deal with a situation they were having. That was all the information they were given. Natsu was noticeably upset, but Kael insisted that since they were some of the guild’s strongest, they should elect to take some of the hardest missions. ‘I mean, who makes a request and only gives the information as ‘We have a situation’?’ Natsu thought to himself. ‘What kind of moron would take that mission?’ Well, as it turned out, he and Kael were that kind of morning.  
“Aye, Happy. I’m coming now,” Natsu replied, exciting the bedroom and making his way to Happy. They had already eaten breakfast, and just finished packing, and were now ready for their somewhat confusing adventure and Natsu’s first S-Class mission.

[Fairy Tail Guild Hall]

“Hey Lisanna, have you seen Natsu today? I picked out a mission that he’d be perfect for,” Mira inquired to her sister.  
“Oh? The two of you have seemed near inseparable of late. You wouldn’t be having any feelings for our ‘Mysterious Dual Salamander,’ now would you Mira?” Lisanna asked, giggling.  
“NO! I-it's not like that!” Mira wailed. “I just happened to find this mission, and since it’s near a volcano, I just happened to think he’d enjoy it! That’s it! Now do you know where he is or not!”  
Lisanna giggled, “Sure you don’t, big sis. But no, Natsu’s not here. He’s going on his first S-Class mission with Kael today! How did you miss that?”  
“Dammit! I wanted to be his first!” Mira grumbled.  
“Oh my! Well you have a chance to be a different-”  
“SHUT UP, LISANNA!”

[At The Train Station]

“Well, Happy, here we are! Hell incarnate,” Natsu groaned.  
“Don’t be so overdramatic, Natsu. Besides, Kael should be here any minute. Just have him knock you unconscious.”  
“That does not make me feel any better, cat!”  
They didn’t have to wait long, as ten minutes later the burly mage was running towards them, apologizing profusely for being so late. Kael had long black hair. The center went down to his shoulder blades, but he kept the sides extremely short. He had short facial hair, in a 3-day stubble style, and had one silver earring on his right ear. He wore a casual outfit everywhere he went, jeans and a black shirt, only occasionally dawning a jacket. He wasn’t huge and overpowering to look at, but he was definitely muscular. He stood at six-feet tall and screamed warrior.  
“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Kael apologized. “Didn’t think I was gonna take this long. You ready for your first S-class joyride?”  
“Not to worry, Kael. I’ve not been here long. And of course, though I wish I knew what I was getting myself into,” Natsu mused. “It is very peculiar that someone would write such a quest. I’ve never seen anything so vague. Even clients who aren’t entirely sure what they need done are more specific. Perhaps it’s because-”  
“Alright, Natsu, that’s enough for now. Let’s just get on the train and figure it out when we get there.”  
“Right...sorry…” Natsu mumbled. “Now if only I could get through the ride WITHOUT getting sick…”  
And with that, they boarded what Natsu had officially dubbed, ‘hell’s only son.’ It would be a long ride, being pretty much the only reason Natsu agreed to take it. It would have been a week’s travel by foot at least, but should only take 6 hours or so by train. They’d arrive in town by evening, meet with the town’s mayor, have dinner, and find somewhere to stay the night. They had no idea how long the job would take them, but the pay was more than Natsu had ever received even while bounty hunting at 8 million jewels. They’d split it evenly of course, but Natsu’s money generally went towards Happy’s fish nowadays. Now that his house was finished and his land purchased, he had nothing else to spend it on aside from food for both he and Happy, and basic other living expenses. So, he decided, like the dragon he was, he became quite a hoarder. All extra money went into a hole he had dug and had access to from a secret panel under a floorboard in his bedroom. It was a reasonably sized location, and he had a bag to prevent the bills from getting dirty or damaged, and he had amassed around a million jewels now. He was rapidly approaching his previous stash that he had given to Makarov, and had every intention of continuing until he found something reasonable to spend the money on.   
Sure enough, six vomit inducing hours later, they arrived at Dahlia. The three departed, well Kael and Happy departed with Natsu barely able to crawl behind them, and set off for the mayor’s office. It was closeby, for once, and they were able to make it there within twenty minutes. They kept to a light chatter, Natsu had informed Kael beforehand that he didn’t want his name spoken while out on missions, nor did he particularly like being noticed, so most of their talk was trying to get Happy to stop begging for fishies. The mayor’s office was nothing special, a large white building with columns out front, and stairs leading to the entrance. When they walked in, there was a simple waiting area of sorts, with magazines and a receptionist sitting at a desk.   
“Excuse me,” Kael requested, standing in front of the receptionist. She was a pretty brunette, wearing a casual button up shirt with a skirt. “We’re here for your, uh, situation. The request was sent out earlier this week by the mayor.”  
“Oh! Thank goodness! Yes, I’ll let him know you’re here, please wait a moment.”  
With that she was gone, standing up to titter into the mayor’s room.  
“She was pretty, eh kid?” Kael nudged him.  
“I suppose so,” Natsu mused, still not really paying attention.  
“C’mon kid, you gotta get around somehow! Nothing better than while far from home!”  
“As much as I admire your wisdom and battle strength, your attitude towards the opposite sex disappoints me,” Natsu replied.  
“Man, you’re no fun at all,” Kael pouted. “I was just messin’ with you. Live a little!”  
“Perhaps some day...However, that day is not today…”  
“Excuse me,” the secretary said, walking over to the two mages. “The mayor will see you now.”  
“Excellent!” Kael replied, and marched towards his office.   
His office was also rather plain, a few windows behind where he sat, which was at a black padded chair in front of a long wooden desk, with two chairs set out on the opposing side.  
“Oh, thank goodness you’re here!” the mayor said, rushing up and shaking their hands. He seemed rather strange, especially considering everything from the appearance of his building to the secretary was completely textbook normal. He was a short man with glasses that was almost completely bald and wore a suit that had a purple jacket. He seemed to run everywhere he went, always in some sort of overdramatic rush, hopping out of his seat when they walked in, shaking their hands violently, and rushing back over to close all of the shades to the windows, before hopping back into his seat.  
“Of course, Mr Mayor, glad to be of service,” Kael said, sitting in one chair while Natsu stood for a moment before joining him in the other. “I’m Kael, and this is my associate, N-”  
“Salamander. You can call me Salamander,” Natsu finished, cutting Kael off.  
“Of course! How could I not know two of the strongest members of Fairy Tail! The mighty ace Kael, and the up and coming monster of flames, The Mysterious Dual Salamander! How exciting!” The mayor was so bubbly, it was almost frightening. Never had Natsu seen someone so excited about anything.  
“Right, of course,” Kael started, eyeing Natsu slightly. “Now, the request you sent was rather vague. Mind filling us in on some of the details?”   
“Of course, Mr. Kael, right away!” The Mayor quickly got up, locked the door and double checked that all the windows were shut before returning to his seat. “Now listen carefully. The Festival of The Short Moon is a sacred event held every February in accordance with the full moon. It’s a wonderful event and the whole town gets involved. This year, we have quite a... situation…”  
“Which is…” Kael pressed.  
The mayor sighed before proceeding. “The sacred wolves have escaped!”  
“The sacred huh?” Kael asked. He had expected a dark mage threatening the town, or some terrible disease, not a few lost wolves.  
“Wolves! The sacred wolves! You see, every time the festival comes around, we have a special mage come in who uses beast taming magic. He was here a few weeks ago, and well, I may have accidentally allowed them to escape…”   
Turns out, every year Dahlia had two major festivals, celebrated with sacred animals. This one would involve two special wolves, who were mated to each other and had somehow developed magical powers. At the full moon, they would both howl into the night sky, and the townsfolk believed this would bring them good luck and prosperity for the coming year. It was also said to ensure the blooming of the Dahlia flowers, wherein they would have their second major festival, after their town’s namesake. The magic of the beast tamer would cause the wolves to be very docile and obedient to the caster, and this particular beast tamer was a master, and had set up a special area encased by runes that would continue the spell effects until the end of the festival. Turns out, the mayor forgot this, and tried to bring the wolves into town to try to raise more money for the festival. The runes were still active and would continue to be active, however, the problem lied in getting the wolves back.  
“Please! I could lose my job and my reputation forever if we don’t get them back in time!” the Mayor begged. “I’ll do anything I can! Just bring them back unharmed in time for the festival.”  
“Why didn’t you just ask for a beast tamer, old man? I’m sure someone would have taken you up on that offer.”  
“I can’t let rumors spread! If someone found out about it, they’d realize what happened!” the Mayor was in full panic mode now, checking and rechecking the windows and doors.  
“Well, don’t sweat it. Me an’ the kid’ve got this,” Kael replied grinning. “Right, mystery man.”  
“Indeed,” Natsu replied, standing and preparing to leave. “Though I might suggest, Derrick, you refrain from making such careless mistakes in the future.”  
He then walked out, a mildly confused Kael in tow, and a pale white mayor behind.  
“How and why did you-” Kael started once they had left the building.  
“I looked into this place the moment you picked the quest,” Natsu replied leading the way towards the outskirts. “He runs a business in the underground. Gets a ton of money that way. Still, he’s a stingy bastard. To this guy, 8 million is nothing, but he was still planning on begging the townspeople to pay more for the festival.”  
“Hehe, you’ve got guts kid,” Kael said, shaking his head. “Though that doesn’t change anything. Maybe this’ll knock down his uppity attitude a bit though.”  
“I doubt it.”  
“Yeah, you’re probably right.”  
“Natshuuuuu,” Happy whined. “I thought we were eating first! I want fishies!”  
“Wolves hunt at night, Happy,” Natsu began. “We need to get a move on now if I’m gonna pick up their scent. If you want, you can pick up some fish at the market and meet up with us later, but if not, we’re in a hurry. Eating can come later.”  
“You’re such a meanie!” Upset as he was, he wasn’t planning on leaving the two. ‘Someone’s gotta keep Natsu in check!’ Happy thought to himself.  
The sun had just finished setting when they got to the area and started to hear howls. Natsu started by sniffing around the enchantment area, and managed to pick up the scent of two wolves. They spent two hours searching, following the howls, Natsu desperately trying to get a lead, but they had no such luck. They decided to call it a night, Happy was already long asleep, and they set up camp.   
“It’s strange,” Natsu thought, setting out his bed roll. “It seems as though no matter how far we travel, the howls don’t get any closer.”  
“Well, the old man did say he used magic,” Kael thought, settling down himself. “Could that be why?”  
“I don’t know, it’s hard to say.”  
“Well, keep thinking on it, kid. You’ll figure something out eventually. From what I hear, you always do.” With that, Kael promptly fell asleep.  
‘I suppose so,’ Natsu thought before he too, settled down to a peaceful slumber.   
The next morning, Natsu arose earlier than his two companions, and decided to take a look around. He was still perplexed by his inability to locate the wolves. Honestly, he was shocked this was even an S-Class mission. Granted, tracking may be a bit difficult for an ordinary mage, and he had no idea how strong the wolves were, especially since they had to bring them back unharmed, but still… Someone with his caliber should have found them almost instantly, and between his and Kael’s strength, this mission should have taken only one evening. So why didn’t it?  
‘Is that?’ Natsu thought to himself, sniffing rapidly. He quickly relocated, finding cover behind some thick brambles and trees. ‘I know that scent…’  
Sure enough, minutes later, a short man with glasses entered the forest, rapidly scanning the area for anyone who might be watching.   
“Ah, the night sure was elegant yesterday,” the short man mused.  
“I was quite taken myself,” another man said, who had jumped down from a nearby tree, much to Natsu’s surprise.   
‘How? I couldn’t even…’ Natsu thought to himself.  
“Well then, if you are ready to proceed, I shall return to the town at once,” the short man said, slowly.   
“Indeed,” the taller man said.   
And that was it. The shorter man took his leave, and the taller one did as well, both heading off in opposing directions.  
‘Something’s definitely going on here…I better get Kael, and quickly…’  
He waited a few moments until he couldn’t sense any trace of either man before quickly dashing over to his slumbering partner.  
“Kael!” Natsu sharply whispered. “Kael! Get up!”  
“Hrmmm?” Kael mumbled, sleepily.  
“Happy! Both of you! This is important!”  
“Natshuuuuu,” Happy whined, stretching. “Why are you up so earllyyyyy.”  
“Both of you, listen up,” Natsu spoke sharply, recalling the events to the two of them. Kael was now rapt attention, and deep in thought.  
“That is interesting…” Kael murmured. “There was clearly something going on, but who was the other one?”  
“I don’t have a clue, I’ve never seen or smelled him before, but the shorter one was definitely him,” Natsu explained.  
“But what are they doing?”  
“I think we should pay a visit to town,” Natsu suggested. “Perhaps we can get more information on this festival and the ‘magic’ these wolves you.  
“I like the way you think kid, hell yeah! Let’s stick it to the man!”   
With that, they were off. Suspicions were high, senses alerted and keen. Within an hour, they had made it back to the village. Natsu decided to do some undercover surveillance, and Kael decided he would pay a visit to the mayor and get some information out of the little weasel.   
‘So…’ he thought, entering the mayor’s office. ‘Tryna play games with Fairy Tail, are we?’

[Back With Natsu]

Natsu had an idea, or more likely a feeling, of what was happening. The mayor didn’t just lose the wolves, he had them taken. You don’t just forget something like a rune circle, it’s painfully obvious.   
‘Knowing that greedy little gremlin,’ Natsu thought to himself. ‘He probably wants to sell them or something stupid like that. But why would he hire mages to find them? He could have easily played it off as if they were stolen, or better yet, declared that the magic runes were faulty.’ It didn’t make any sense to the puzzled dragon slayer, so he continued on his search.  
His first stop was a local tavern. He wanted some local input on the festival, and he had just the furry companion to charm some willing townsfolk. He sat down and ordered a whisky, and waited for Happy to make his entrance. They’d done this a bunch of times already, during his bounty hunter days Happy was quite the little devil when it came to getting information, so they had the plan down pat. After five minutes exactly, Happy flew in catching the eye of most of the customers.  
“Hi, Mister!” Happy said to the bartender, whose eyes were wide in shock. “You got any yummy fishies.”  
“Uh, no, sorry kitty cat…” the man replied slowly.  
“You don’t?” Happy pretended to well up with tears, earning a few sympathetic glances from the locals.   
“Sorry, cat. It’s a tavern, no fish here,” the man said, finally realizing he wasn’t drunk nor was he dreaming.   
“Well, (sniff) ok…” Happy said, ‘holding back tears.’ “Well, do you think you could tell me about the festival instead?”  
Glad that the creature had stopped crying, the bartender happily replied to the cat. “Sure thing, little guy! Every year in February, we have a festival to honor the full moon. It’s called the Festival of the Short Moon.”  
“Why is the moon short?” Happy asked, giggling. “That’s silly.”  
“It’s not the moon itself that’s short!” the man explained smiling. “You see, it’s because February is the shortest month of the year. Many villages have festivals to celebrate the coming of the new year, but we celebrate in February.”  
“How come? That seems weird,” Happy continued.  
“Hmmm,” the man thought for a moment. “I’m actually not quite sure. If you’re really interested, you can check the library. The lady that works there, Mrs. Darnèe should know a lot about its history. All I can tell you is that the festival is a lot of fun! Plenty of music, dancing, the sacred wolf song, and-”  
“FISH??” Happy asked excitedly.  
The man chuckled. “I’m sure you can find some fish there if you look.”  
“Aye, sir!” Happy exclaimed, and zoomed out the door.  
“Strange creature, that one…” the bartender mused, returning to cleaning the glass, unaware of the cloaked dragonslayer that had been very attentive to their conversation. 

[Returning to Kael]

“So,” Kael asked, leaning back in his chair away from the mayor. “Why don’t you tell me a little bit about this beast tamer.”  
“Of course Mr Kael!” the mayor replied, giddily. He was just as happy and excitable as the previous day, almost as if nothing had ever happened at all. “His name is Tanner. At the end of every January he comes into town, accepts a small payment, and then sets off to bring back two sacred wolves. There are many wolves in the area, any many people cannot discern them, but he has a special eye for them.”  
“You mentioned that these so-called ‘sacred wolves’ could use magic. What kind of magic can they use exactly?”  
“It’s a type of earth magic, though I’m not entirely sure what it’s called. He mentioned it once or twice, something about reconstructing the earth into various shapes to protect itself.”  
“So it would be correct to assume you’ve never actually seen them use magic yourself.”  
“That would be correct, yes. I must be frank though, what does any of this have to do with returning the wolves in time for the festival? My reputation is on the line here!”  
“I just have a few more questions...This Tanner fellow...Where does he come from and what does he look like?”   
The mayor described Tanner as a strange looking fellow, with green hair and tattoos of various beasts on his arms. He told Kael that the man was quite tall, but still slightly shorter than the mage.   
“Why do you ask?”  
“No reason…” Kael responded, taking his leave from the office. “I have to meet up with my associate soon, we’ll be sure to let you know if we get any more information on those wolves of yours.”

[Later]

The two met up at a restaurant near where Natsu had been gathering his information. It hadn’t been long, but both had discovered rather interesting details, which they shared.  
“I didn’t get a good look, and his body was covered, but the height seemed to be about right. Not to mention, I couldn’t even smell him until after he made his presence known,” Natsu mentioned following Kael’s information. “It could be a coincidence, or it could be that that taller man was in fact our beast slayer. If he’s half as good as he sounds, he’ll be able to fully mask his presence. Animals have much better perception than we do, so he’d need it to get anything done.”  
“That is strange. From what I’ve heard, there’s nothing and nobody you can’t track down with that nose of yours. Missing something like that can’t be a coincidence,” Kael replied, thinking deeply on the information. Natsu hadn’t dug up anything entirely new, but he had a lead, and that was something to start with. Not to mention, Natsu had a good theory which Kael agreed with, but they needed both evidence and reason. While it did seem likely that a man such as Derrick would try to steal the wolves to make some easy money, why call in mages? It was perplexing to say the least, especially since he had the request marked as S-class.  
“I think you should head to the library. Too many people there for me,” Natsu suggested, standing. “I want to take another look around the forest to try and find our missing beast slayer…”  
“Sounds good to me kiddo. Be careful out there,” Kael said, giving Natsu a fist bump before they parted ways.  
‘Dammit, Derrick…’ Natsu thought.  
‘What are you planning?’ Kael questioned to himself.

[The Library]

“Excuse me,” Kael asked. He had entered the library and walked over to the desk, which was currently being tended to by a young blonde woman. “I don’t suppose you would know were I could find someone by the name of Mrs. Darnèe, would you?”  
“Of course! She should be coming back from her lunch break any minute. Why?”  
“I’m not from around here, and apparently she knows a lot about the festival of yours. I’d like to hear a little bit more about it.”  
“Oh! Well I’m sure she should be able to help you! Mrs. Darnèe knows everything there is to know about the Festival of the Short Moon! Glad to see you taking an interest!”   
Kael noted she was almost as bubbly as the mayor had been. ‘What is with this town?’ he thought to himself.   
Sure enough he only had to wait around 15 minutes before an older lady entered the building. She had gray hair that went down to her shoulders, and was a bit on the plump side. She looked to be all smiles, and wore a pair of glasses. The older lady and the blonde spoke for a few moments, before the blonde woman gestured to Kael, who waved and started to walk over.  
“So you’re interested in our festival I heard? That’s very kind of you young man, so nice to see people interested in our festivities,” she said.  
“Young man? I’m in my 30s!” Kael laughed.   
“Oh, pish posh! When you get to my age everyone’s young!”  
The two shared a laugh, and she led him over to a table where the two could talk.  
“So, young man, what’s your name and what would you like to know?”  
“Thanks very much, Mrs. Darnèe, this means a lot. The name’s Kael, and I’m interested in everything you can tell me about how your festival first started. I think I understand what happens during the event, but I find it strange that no one seems to know about the history.”  
“Yes, well, let me see here…” she stood and walked over to a nearby shelf, searching for a few moments before pulling out a book. It had definitely seen better days, but was still intact and legible. “It all started around 150 years ago, just before this town was first started....”

[The Founding Of Dahlia]

A small group of settlers were found near exhaustion on the ground. They had been walking for days, with almost no food and barely enough water to survive. They had all lived in another village previously, but it was a cruel and terrible place to live. It was run by a corrupt group of mages that practiced dark magic, and they used and abused the citizens for their own sick and twisted desires. Children were often sacrificed, if someone was unable to work they were more often than not killed, and everyone was extremely poor.  
One of the men who lived there went by the name of Sigmund. He and his wife Dahlia had recently had a child together, a young girl they named Lily. Soon after, however, his wife was stricken with a terrible illness that killed her, and started to spread. The dark mages declared the young child cursed and ordered her execution. Unable to save his daughter, the man was stricken with grief, and almost took his own life. He claimed to have been stopped by the ghost of a beautiful young woman who was holding a very young girl in her arms. The spirit smiled at him until he dropped his blade, and then as quickly as she had come, she was gone. The man took it as a sign, and decided he would take as many people as he possibly could, and escape the tyranny of that village.   
Within a month, he was ready. He had a group of roughly two dozen people, all armed with shovels or stolen spears, and were ready to make their escape. Just as they had reached the outskirts, they were met with the town’s guards who were ordered to slaughter them en masse as a lesson to the other villagers. Still determined, Sigmund led the charge, engaging the fully armed group of mercenary guards. They managed to win, but still took heavy losses. He once had a band of 25 people, and it was now down to nine, and most were seriously wounded. Determined to escape, they took anything they could from the unconscious or deceased mercenaries, and headed off to a better life.   
Four days later, they reached a clearing surrounded by barren trees. They were starving, dehydrated, and freezing cold. Just as they were about to give up hope, two wolves approached. Too exhausted to defend themselves, they surrendered to the wolves. The remaining men used whatever strength they had left to protect their friends or wives, while the wolves watched in awe at the desperate travelers who had resigned themselves to fate. It was that night, on a beautiful February night, the full moon emerged from the clouds. The two wolves started to howl, and it was the most beautiful thing the travelers had ever witnessed. The two were in perfect harmony, howling a song that made them feel almost warm. Soon after, the ground around them started to shake, and they once again accepted their demise, glad to at least be given one last glimpse at happiness before passing. It was then, that the ground shifted. It began to form around them, creating a shelter from the cold. It was reminiscent of a small cave, built from hardened earth, that rose to surround them. The people were in shock. Not only were they not dead, but the wolves appeared to be attempting to aid the travelers. One of the wolves left, and returned moments later with the carcass of an elk, and he dragged it over, giving it to the weary travelers. Sigmund was in shock, and as he turned his head, off in the distance, he saw a single flower in full bloom. It was a Dahlia flower, somehow alive and blooming far earlier than it should have been, and he decided then and there that he and everyone around him would live on.  
They built a fire, cooked the meat, and were finally able to rest easily. The next day, they all unanimously agreed. This would be where they’d build their new home. So that’s what they did. They used the wood from the surrounding area to build homes, once the elk had been eaten they used the spears they had taken from the mercenaries and hunted, they found freshwater in a river that was relatively closeby. They did it. They were finally able to find the happiness they had never known.  
None of the villagers ever forgot the wolves that had saved them and given them hope. The village was named Dahlia, because of the single flower Sigmund had seen that he believed was given to them by his deceased wife, but they decided to hold a festival every year in honor of the wolves that had saved them. Every February during the full moon, all of the citizens of Dahlia, which was growing rapidly every year, would come out to celebrate and feast around a fire in the center of the village.   
Around 10 years ago, the previous mayor had met a young beast tamer who had just moved into the village. He offered the mayor to bring the wolves into town so everyone would be able to clearly hear their song. The mayor was hesitant at first, uneasy about potentially bringing harm to the town’s sacred animal, but the man insisted that due to his special type of magic, they’d be obedient to his command, so nothing but a simple approach would be needed. Initially, he declined, but apparently the beast tamer had told the people of his idea, and they rallied in support. It was always said that anyone who was able to hear their song would have good luck and prosperity in the coming year, so moving them close enough so the whole town would hear would certainly help them. After this, the mayor had little choice but to agree. Ever since then, the festival has continued. The beast tamer comes into town to accept payment for his services, and retrieves the sacred beasts for our festival.

[Story End]

“Wow,” Kael said. This was a lot of information. ‘How does no one know about this?’ he thought to himself.  
“Indeed, young man. It tends to be a lot to process, I’m not surprised that no one was able to tell you the whole story.”  
“I...suppose you’re right about that...” Kael replied. He decided not to tell her that no one seemed to know anything about it, let alone just bits and pieces. It was far too strange. “Well, I appreciate the information. Thank you for your time, Mrs. Darnèe.”  
“Of course, young man. I hope you’ll enjoy the festival! Take care!”  
With that Kael departed. He had a much better idea of what was going on now. ‘Now, if I can find out what happened to the previous mayor...’

[The Forest]

Natsu and Happy had finally arrived. He was much faster with just Happy, and made it to the forest in half the time it had taken the two to return. He was set on finding something, anything that pointed to information regarding the taller man he had seen with the mayor.  
‘A footprint, a scent, some clothing, anything at all!’ Natsu thought, as he scoured the area. All he could find was the mayor’s scent, which was everywhere. ‘He could certainly make an effort to be more discreet,’ Natsu mused.   
An hour went by with no luck, and he was about to return, when he suddenly heard what sounded like a cry from a wounded animal.  
“Nat-” Happy was instantly shushed by Natsu’s hand over his mouth, as he instantly found cover in the brush. That was all they heard, but it was something, and Natsu was going to find out what it was. He slowly and quietly made his way closer to the noise he had heard. Twenty agonizing minutes later, he saw it. Two wolves, both severely wounded, were chained up to fences. He recognized the metal that made up their chains as magic suppressing. Both wolves were beautiful, almost glowing, and were twice the size of any normal wolf. They both had blood all over their fur, and looked to be on the verge of death. They couldn’t move at all because of how short the chain was, and their jaws were chained shut. Resting in a hammock nearby was a man. He was facing away from Natsu and seemed to be asleep, but he had green hair and almost no scent whatsoever.  
‘I finally found you...’ Natsu thought, glancing at Happy. Happy was horrified, and the two were set on doing anything and everything they could, for both the wolves and the town. ‘Well this just gets more complicated by the second!’


	10. The Tenth

[Natsu’s Journal - The Second Evening in Dahlia]

S-Class missions are definitely no joke, though Kael insists that normally they are far more straightforward than this one is and that I just got unlucky. Regardless, it’s taken two days, and we are just now beginning to formulate a plan. Kael told me about the history of this village, which is quite interesting I must say. I managed to set those wolves free and get some information out of the guy. Turns out, I was right. Guys’ name was Tanner. Took quite some...uh...convincing, but I eventually got some real information out of him. He lives in a village called Nightshade, named after the Dark Guild that owns the place, and is here to try and get revenge on the town. Apparently, Nightshade is the very place that the founders of this town came from over one hundred years ago. I really don’t understand why they’d hold a grudge so long, and why they’d attack now of all times, but I guess Tanner was just following orders. He’s definitely twisted, no doubt about that, but he wasn’t privy to too much information. Kael’s brought him to be taken into custody by the council and we’ll reconvene tomorrow morning. The final mystery we need to solve is how Derrick is connected here. Somehow, he gained mayorship with ease, and is somehow connected with Nightshade. I have no evidence yet, but my theory is some sort of memory altering magic. It would explain why no one but the librarian had any information regarding the town’s history, and also why someone like Derrick was able to easily gain office. The previous mayor had been well liked before Tanner came into the equation, so it’s bizarre that they’d throw him out for no reason. I wonder where he is now? Regardless, the mission is on hold for the time being. We should only have a little time left before the mayor starts getting suspicious, but both Kael and I believe the town could be in serious danger.   
“Hey, Happy?” Natsu asked, having finished his latest journal entry. “Are you sure we aren’t overthinking this? I mean, maybe the two had good reason to meet in the forest, but I just can’t shake this feeling…”  
“Well, you’ve always been the cautious type, Natsu,” Happy replied, thinking hard on what he’d been asked. “But considering all of us came to the same conclusion, I doubt that’s a coincidence. Something’s definitely wrong…”  
“Thanks, buddy.”  
“Aye, sir!”  
And with that, the two laid down to rest, content to sleep on their newfound information until the next morning.   
With the sun rose Natsu, set to find out what was going on, and, if need be, save the town today. He woke Happy and the two had a quick breakfast, before smothering the fire and heading into town. They were meeting Kael at the train station to come up with a plan of action. The the met within around an hour, and decided to head to a more private location to chat.   
“I take it the council took him?” Natsu asked.  
“Yeah, they said they’d try to get more information out of him first,” Kael replied before chuckling. “The guy didn’t seem to mind, he just begged to not be let near ‘that monster’ again, as he so kindly nicknamed you. I gotta hand it to you kid, I don’t know what you did, but man was he scared.”  
“Simple intimidation and interrogation,” Natsu informed him, emotionlessly. “I have quite a lot of...experience...in that regard…”  
“Say no more kid, you’ve had a hell of a ride, and I don’t want you to have to relive ‘em for my sake. Anyway, you thought of anything else yet?”  
“I’ve come up with two courses of action. We could liberate Nightshade, which would most likely put both us and the citizens in danger,” Natsu started. “Or we could tail the mayor for a while and hope he has more contacts.”  
“Hmm... What do you think the odds are that he does?”  
“I’d say pretty good, his scent is just about everywhere in those woods...Not to mention a handful of others…”  
“I like you kid,” Kael nodded, standing to get ready to depart. “Let’s do it.”  
“Aye, sir!” Happy said, and the three left.  
Happy was on sky duty, hanging around the rooftops waiting for the signal that he left his office. Natsu was on watch at the mayor’s office, keeping an ear and his sniffer ready for when the mayor left. Kael was around town, staying mobile for any signs of suspicious activities. It was early afternoon when their patience paid off. He left, seemingly on a lunch break, and Natsu gave Happy a signal to inform Kael. Once the three of them knew, they repositioned, Happy maintaining vision from the sky, Natsu keeping his distance from behind, and Kael staying in front. Sure enough, Derrick made his way into the forest, not noticing the three Fairy Tail members that were definitely on to him. They met up outside of town, and waited around five minutes before chasing after him. They needed to make sure there was enough distance so the mayor didn’t notice them, and Natsu’s tracking ability made that much easier.   
They didn’t have to walk too far before they caught up with him. In a clearing only 10 minutes out from the city, the mayor was in conversation with three much larger figures, each wearing dark blue robes. They got just close enough to where Natsu could make out their conversation.  
“Where is Tanner! He was late to our meeting yesterday and the wolves were gone!” the mayor demanded.  
“We have no idea, maybe it had something to do with your bright idea to get wizards involved,” one of the robed men said.   
“You know exactly why I had to get them involved,” the mayor snapped. “That stupid machine of yours needs more magical power than I can get using any old lacrima. Imagine how expensive it would be to build a machine that would be big enough to hold it! Not to mention, buying that many lacrima would definitely attract some unwanted attention.”  
“Very well, Derrick,” another mage replied. “But that does not fix our issue. The wolves are missing, and without Tanner, how’re we gonna get the citizens out of the town? We just needed one more day of leading those Fairy Tail scumbags around before the main force arrives and we can spring the trap. Since it was your idea to involve them in this, it’s your job to fix it.”  
“Dammit!” the mayor cursed. “Lousy mages! Always meddling in places they don’t belong. How did he find Tanner anyway? Not even beasts can track him!”  
“We have no idea. Now figure out a way to get those mages in the ring tomorrow...From what I’ve heard of those two, we can get so much power we might not even need to get them outside of the city. We’ll roll over this rotten town so quick, they won’t have time to escape again!” The third robed man cackled, and the four parted ways.  
Natsu relayed all this to Kael, who seemed quite concerned, and the two took off back to their campsite. It didn’t take long at full speed before they arrived, albeit out of breath and panting.   
“A machine...that uses...mage’s magic...power?” Natsu panted.  
“That’s...insane…” Kael responded. “I’ve never...heard of anything...like that…”  
They caught their breath and each tried to figure out the next course of action. First, they both decided, they needed to go over everything they knew.   
“Well for starters, the Festival of the Short Moon takes place tomorrow, which is the same time they want to launch their trap. I’m guessing the ‘ring’ is that runed area where the wolves supposedly were. I guess it’s not an automatic trap, because when we first started the quest, that was our first stop,” Kael said.   
“Right, and without a doubt, Derrick is working with mages from Nightshade to get revenge on the town of Dahlia. My guess, is they only recently found out the history, or there is some sort of time significance for them to attack now, which is why they waited so long. None of the townspeople except the librarian know of the founding of the town and the past with Nightshade, which is almost certainly due to some sort of memory altering magic,” Natsu added. “The question is, what do we do about it?”  
“Well, for starters,” Kael began, scratching his chin. “I’d say we pretend that we don’t know anything. Go along with whatever the mayor wants with us, but under no circumstances enter the ring. If anything, we should try to get him into it.”  
“Not a bad plan, but what else? I mean, we know they have a trap, some sort of machine, and a force of mages. That’s not a lot of information. We don’t have a clue if their machine works, if they have the ability to take hostages, if they are aware that we know about their plan, there’re just too many unknowns here!”   
“Should we call the magic council?” Happy asked.  
“Not a good idea, fur ball,” Kael replied. “They make a lot of noise. That could really put the people in danger. This is down to just us.”  
“I must agree,” Natsu said, nodding. “The council is of no use here. Besides, I don’t particularly love the idea of getting acquainted with them.”  
“You’re a shady one, kid, I’ll give ya that,” Kael muttered. “Well, until then, I’d say we lay a trap of our own…”  
So they set out. The plan was first to investigate the rune circle that had supposedly been set up to keep the sacred wolves in until the festival, and try to get a sense of any potential danger there was around it. They couldn’t find any obvious signs of a trap, but they could tell that it wasn’t designed for holding wolves in either. Needless to say, Natsu was quite upset with himself for not fully noticing on their first time through. Had they been able to find anything, they planned to disable it, which would have made their jobs much easier. Seeing as they found nothing, the only way to ensure there wouldn’t be a trap left would be to destroy the whole area, which, needless to say, was not an option. It would attract way too much attention and put the townspeople at risk.   
Following the conclusion of that investigation, they planned to ask around for any signs of the previous mayor. Unfortunately, as it turns out, he had died due to ‘natural causes’ two years after Tanner first arrived in town. That raised even more suspicions. The only things they needed to know now were if there really was some sort of memory manipulation magic going on and why Nightshade waited so long to attack. Unfortunately for them, they didn’t exactly know how to go about finding such information, so they returned to their campsite rather early. It was only early evening when they returned, the option for more investigating not really present. So they spent their evening getting to know each other a bit better, for some reason Natsu felt secure around Kael, perhaps it had to do with how much he reminded Natsu of Igneel. Kael told Natsu of how he got into magic after losing both of his parents in The Second Great Mage War. Natsu told Kael his story of how he lost everything and decided that his purpose in life was to avenge those losses and follow through with the dying words of his father. Kael felt bad for the kid, but told him he was an idiot for throwing himself into bounty hunting, and scolded him even worse for still not being able to kick the habit. It was tough love, and Natsu needed it.  
Happy was extremely pleased as well. Natsu was always that figure for everyone that had been in Happy’s life. He was the big brother at Rösch and he was almost like a father to Happy, seeing as he did raise him. Even to a lot of the members of Fairy Tail, many of them looked up to his astounding strength in battle, and his calm attitude at all times. It was nice to see someone finally filling that role for Natsu, the older mage’s experience really paying off for the young dragon slayer. So the evening continued, talking and laughing and enjoying their time, trying to put out of their minds the possible danger they’d both face when they woke up the next morning.

[Several Miles Away]

“It’s finally time! We’ve waited over one hundred years for this day!”  
The group of mages cheered and shouted their support for their mighty leader.  
“The fools are oblivious to our plans, oblivious to our existence, and will now face the consequences of betraying Nightshade!”  
More cheers echoed from the magical army before him.  
“Master Ecco, I have completed my assignment successfully...Not a soul in Dahlia can recall our existence…”  
“Very good, Esprit...The time has finally come...May the sacrifices bear everlasting power and create a NEW WORLD!”

[The Next Day - Dahlia]

Natsu and Kael had returned to the city to ‘eat breakfast’. In reality, they were simply allowing the mayor to attempt to trap them. As predicted a messenger informed the two men that the mayor requested their presence at once, so they followed him to his office. The two were escorted in, and the mayor, as giddy as ever, was once again eager to see the too mages.  
“Ah! Mr. Kael! Mr. Salamander! Good to see you again!” the mayor greeted them, excitedly.  
“Good to see you again too, Mr. Mayor,” Kael replied shaking his hand. “I apologize, though my comrade here has excellent tracking skills, we were unable to locate either of the sacred wolves. Perhaps it has something to do with their ability to use magic?”  
‘Um...yes that is...possible. However, do not worry! I have arranged for Tanner’s return and he claims to have the ability to summon them back here! Isn’t that wonderful!”  
“Ah, interesting! That is excellent, good work Mr. Mayor,” Kael replied, eyeing Natsu.   
“Indeed! I request that both of you come to see him as well! Seeing as the three of you are all clients working on the same job, I have a feeling you will be able to assist him.”  
“Alright, sure thing! I’m sure you’ll want to accompany us as well, right?” Kael pressed.  
“Oh...um...certainly!” the mayor stuttered.  
“Great!” Kael replied standing, and starting to leave. “Why don’t we go ahead?”  
The two mages, the mayor, and the flying blue cat took their leave, heading to the rune circle, or as Natsu and Kael knew it as, the trap. They arrived shortly, yet for some most peculiar reason Tanner was nowhere to be found.  
“Strange isn’t it?” Kael asked Natsu. “I thought there was supposed to be a beast tamer here. Mr. Mayor, is he late, or are we early?”  
“Oh...I’m sure he’ll be here momentarily!” the mayor said. “Why don’t the three of us wait over here for him?” he suggested, gesturing to the benches that were set up.  
“That’s strange, I don’t remember there being benches here last time…” Kael mused, following Natsu towards the entrance, The order was Natsu, followed by Kael, followed by the mayor, with Happy flying next to Kael.   
They worked in perfect sync. Natsu entered the ring, and just before Kael entered as well, they acted. Natsu dove outside while Kael whipped around throwing the mayor in before he could even react.  
“What on ear-AGHHHHHH!” the mayor was cut off, as the runes lit up with magical energy electrocuting him. The entire area then became encircled by a cage, made from magic blocking metal, that prevented anyone inside from being able to use magic.   
The mayor was unconscious rather quickly, and Kael and Natsu prepped themselves for the upcoming fight.  
“Oh, Derrick…” Natsu mused. “You really must learn to do things more...discreetly…”   
“Well, well, well…” A tall man with a moustache and a purple robe began to approach them, followed by several dozen other robed men. “It appears we underestimated you mages. How ever did you uncover our plan so easily? Very, very, impressive…”   
“Save the small talk, you robed punk,” Kael spat. “What do you want with Dahlia?”  
“I see, right to the point, eh? You guild mages are never any fun. Well, luckily for you, we just so happen to have brought along a backup plan. It won’t be nearly as effective without our power sources, but for an old man and a goth child, I think it should be more than enough. BRING OUT THE TORMENTA DAEMONIUM!”   
Behind him, trees started to crash down, and the earth started to rumble. The robed men behind him split into two groups, leaving about 25 feet between them. Out from the forest, pulled by six men, came a massive cannon. The barrel of the cannon was pointed towards the sky, and was the height of a mid-sized salamander, but the bore was wide enough to fit at least four people. The barrel had a jagged metal opening and was glowing red with power. Attached to the back was a glass cage that looked roughly large enough to place a human, though currently it was stuffed full of lacrima. The weapon was enormous, and could likely wipe out most of the town in one shot.  
“WELL NOW, MAGES OF LIGHT! YOU MAY HAVE CAUGHT ON TO OUR LITTLE RUSE, BUT YOU WILL BECOME THE POWER SOURCE FOR OUR ULTIMATE WEAPON! THE TORMENTA DAEMONIUM: ZEREF’S CANNON OF DEMONS!” the tall man cried. “ON MY NAME AS MASTER ECCO OF NIGHTSHADE, WE SHALL DESTROY THOSE WHO TAINTED OUR NAME AND CONQUER ALL THOSE WHO STAND IN OUR PATH!”  
“Man, this guy’s delirious,” Kael muttered, seemingly unphased by the massive cannon.  
“That weapon couldn’t force the tail off a rabbit,” Natsu said, seemingly disappointed at the buildup.  
“You may THINK you’re strong, wizards, but you too will tremble before the might of Nightshade’s ultimate weapon!”   
“Hey, Natsu! Think you can handle the purple freaks? That cannon looks like it’ll make a good punching bag for my Soul Arts.”  
“Not a chance, Kael,” Natsu replied, much to his confusion. “You’ll just bust it up. I want it.”  
“HUH?!” The dark mages all froze at the absurd suggestion and Kael just shook his head.  
“You’re nuts kid. Alright, you take out that cannon, and I’ll deal with Barney over here.”  
“That’s more my style! Hey, Happy! Go have someone call the council! Tell ‘em we’re about to have some more pickups!”  
“Aye, sir!” Happy got out between giggles.   
“Prepare to enter the den of a TRUE DRAGON!” Natsu roared, and took the stance of his blitz.  
“Now that’s what I like to hear!” Kael shouted, punching his fists together. His hands and feet started to glow blue with energy, while Natsu had a faint red glow.  
“FIRE DRAGON’S-”  
“SOUL ARTS:-”  
“BLITZ!”  
“INFALLIBLE!”   
The two raced forward at near identical speeds, faster than most of the mages could keep up with.   
“Quickly! Fire the cannon!” the tall man yelled, preparing to engage. The men that had been moving the cannon quickly got in position. All but one were defending the lacrima on the back, which did not go unnoticed by Natsu or Kael who were currently attempting to beat through the army of at least 50 mages to get to the cannon.  
“FIRE!” the man at the cannon shouted, unleashing it. The ground began to rumble as the robed mages who were not unconscious already cast purple seals in front of them, and smirked. A gigantic beam of red energy shot out of the cannon into the sky. After rising for a few moments it exploded and rained down massive amounts of magical energy upon the ground. Each landed leaving nothing but a crater in its wake. Somehow, the robed mages didn’t seem to pay any attention, as they began to push back the S-Class duo.  
“HEADS UP, NATSU! WE GOTTA TAKE OUT THAT CANNON BEFORE IT CAN FIRE AGAIN!” Kael yelled over the roar. The two were desperately trying to dodge, but even with their incredible speed it simply wasn’t enough with the sheer area that the cannon had covered.  
“THEY MUST HAVE CAST SOME SORT OF DEFENSIVE SPELL ON THEMSELVES!” Natsu yelled back, barely dodging before running directly into a blast.   
It took a little over a minute before the shots stopped raining down. Natsu and Kael were both bleeding profusely from their arms and legs, Natsu’s cloak was destroyed, and Kael’s shirt could barely be called a shirt anymore. The entire area was destroyed, craters littering the ground, yet somehow their opponents were unphased.   
“NOW DO YOU UNDERSTAND, PUNY GUILD MAGES!” Ecco roared. “THE MIGHT OF THE TORMENTA DAEMONIUM IS UNMATCHED IN POWER! YOU WILL BECOME ITS NEW FUEL AND WE WILL TAKE OVER ALL OF ISHGAR!”   
“This guy…” Natsu panted. “Is out of his mind! Hey, moustache asshole! You ruined my cloak!”  
“Natsu, he ruined the whole area…You’ve got issues kid…” Kael mumbled.   
“Back up Kael, it’s about to get hot in here. That canon best be fireproof!” Natsu shouted.  
“White fire dragon king’s ROAR!” A massive torrent of white flames blasted from his mouth, further incinerating the ground beneath them. The robed mages in front of him howled in agony, their bodies thoroughly burned and their clothes all but ashes. Most of them were unconscious fairly quickly, but at least a dozen as well as all the men at the cannon and the man who called himself Ecco were still standing.  
“I’d know that fire anywhere! YOU? THIS CHILD IS THE WHITE CROWN??” Ecco roared. “I DON’T CARE WHAT ELSE HAPPENS! KILL THAT BOY AT ANY COST!”  
A cheer unleashed from the remaining mages, as all but one who was still working on firing the cannon again charged the two.   
“Well, at least now I see first hand why you always wear that stupid cloak, kid,” Kael said, seemingly amused by their sudden target switch. “Have fun with your new friends, and I’ll go wrap your toy.”  
“Not one scratch Kael!” Natsu replied, preparing for the army of mages.   
Most of them were exceedingly weak and after only around two minutes it was down to just Ecco and Natsu. Ecco had already taken a flaming punch to the stomach, and had most of his robe burned off from the heat of his roar, but he was far from done.  
“You’ve amused me long enough, White Crown, but it’s time I show you why they call me Ecco! SOUND CANNON!” Ecco shouted, blasting a wave of vibrations towards Natsu.  
“AAAAGHHHHHH!” Natsu howled in agony, his ears bleeding almost immediately. That attack would hurt the ears of anyone, but to a dragon slayer, this was true agony.  
“That’s right, White Crown! Fall before me! The master of Nightshade and ruler of Ishgar!”  
“RRRRARRRGHHHH,” Natsu was still in agony, but managed to stand. “Give me...a break...you skinny freak...That attack...won’t work on anyone...other than me…”  
“Well now, White Crown, I must admit I expected far more out of you. Seems you’ve fallen over the years, or have yet to experience anyone fighting back. This should be more than enough to finish you off! SCREECH BLADES!” Ecco swiped both of his hands in front of his body and shot two long thin blades of sound directly at Natsu, who managed to dodge them just in time, but still reeling from the sound. He wasn’t caught off guard nearly as much, so the pain wasn’t as bad, but he was still in agony.  
‘I better end this quick,’ Natsu thought. ‘Any more of those hit me and I’ll either be on the ground sick or unconscious.’  
“You dance with a dragon, hotshot, you’re gonna get burned! Fire dragon’s BRILLIANT FLAME!” Natsu launched a fireball towards Ecco, who managed to dodge in time. He didn't, however, notice that Natsu used that attack as cover in order to propel himself forward. “FIRE DRAGON’S SWORD HORN!” he shouted, as Natsu rocketed into him headfirst, covered in flames.  
“OOOOF!” Ecco groaned, being shot backwards into a tree. He tried to stand but was sick immediately. “Don’t...think I’m done...yet! White Crown! (barf)”  
“You look worse than Natsu on a train, you prick!” Kael called, strolling over to the now vomiting mage. “Sleep tight, and we’ll get you to your new place when you wake up.” He reared back and punched Ecco right in the temple, knocking him out instantly.   
“I had that you know…” Natsu grumbled, kicking the dirt.   
“I know kid, but you got to have all the fun! That guy at the cannon didn’t even put up a fight, one punch to the gut and he was out.”  
“You didn’t damage my trophy now, did you?”  
“Chill out kid, it’s fine. Just broke the cage on the back.”  
“That’s fine, I just want the barrel anyway.”  
“You’re something else, you know that kid?”  
“Shut up, old man, I just like trophies! And now I have to get a new cloak!”  
Kael just laughed and shook his head. It wasn’t too tough of a battle in the long run, but it certainly was a painful one. Each had gotten their arms and legs beaten up pretty badly, and were worn out. That cannon was a powerhouse of magical energy, and each blast tore through the earth sending bits of rock, magic, and other bits of earth rocketing towards the two mages, slicing up their limbs.   
They spent the next hour cleaning and bandaging their wounds and tying up the members of nightshade, throwing them in the cage with the mayor, who was just beginning to regain consciousness.  
“Ugh...my- What happened? ECCO?”  
“Oh, shut up, Derrick,” Natsu, jeered. “The council should be here eventually. Since we’re so nice, we decided you can hang around in the cage with your friends there until they arrive.”  
“Damn you, Salamander! Damn you!”  
Within a few hours, Happy had come back, laughing at the sorry state of the dark guild now locked in a cage that they themselves had developed. Kael went into town to find someone to explain the situation to, find Natsu a new cloak at his absolute insistence, and wait for the council members to arrive. Happy followed him into town to bring back ‘as many fishies as money can buy!’ which left Natsu alone to deal with his disassembly of the cannon.  
‘Well, this is sure gonna be a challenge,’ Natsu thought to himself, as he examined the cannon. It was extremely well made, a true master class of weapon smithing, and looked to be extremely heavy. He started by burning away the few parts of it that were actually made of wood or other non metal, and then set about detaching the barrel. The barrel, it turns out, was made from a magic proof material, which is likely how it would have been able to fire such a volume of power without it in itself being totally destroyed. However, much to Natsu’s good fortune, it looks like they got a bit cheap and it was attached to the base with steel, which was not magic resistant. It was an easy enough process to melt the steel enough to where he could break the barrel and it fell to the ground with a mighty thud.  
“That kid really wasn’t messing around…”  
“He really is taking the barrel…”  
“All our hard work down the drain!” the mages cried.   
“Damn right I am!” Natsu shouted back. “It’s a fine trophy for my first S-Class mission! And who knows what’ll happen if anyone gets a hold of this thing again anyway. I’ll keep it for myself! I have some questions for you lot, so you better be ready to answer ‘em!” with that he jumped towards the cage, causing the few conscious members to jump back in terror.  
Through his interrogation, which for once did not require any force, seeing as he already used it, he discovered pretty much everything else that had been missing from his information. They did indeed have a memory altering mage who went through the town causing them to forget their history with Nightshade. Her name was Esprit, and apparently, ridding them of the knowledge of their past would cause their suffering to be even greater. They supposedly only discovered that Dahlia was the town formed from the escaped citizens of Nightshade, which they had presumed had died, recently, about 15 years ago. They spent the entire time constructing the cannon, gathering the lacrima, and building up their power. The previous mayor had been assassinated, and the memories of those that saw his body altered to show that he had died of natural causes. They then had Derrick elected to embezzle funds from the town to help pay for the construction. All in all, Esprit was their key, so she definitely wouldn’t be getting any leniency from the council.  
‘These guys are both insane, and pathetic. In 15 years, that’s the best they could do?’ Natsu thought. ‘You’d think in 15 years you could build something a little stronger than this.’  
Regardless, that was the story they gave him, in between please for him not to kill them.  
By that evening, just about everything had been sorted. The council had come and informed the town, who were shocked to say the least, and the members of Nightshade were arrested. They thanked the mages, giving them a sum of around a million jewels as thanks for their help, and headed off. Unfortunately, over the past century-and-a-half, the town of Nightshade ceased to exist, the remaining citizens being killed or escaped, leaving just a carcass of a place housing a dark guild with a menacing reputation. The most shocking part was that the council didn’t seem to care too much about all the details. They got the information that the dark guild Nightshade attacked the town of Dahlia, using memory manipulation to gain access to their government, to have a double attack from the inside and the outside. They never found out about the cannon, which was lucky for Natsu, since he had no intention of parting with his trophy.  
That night, even after all they had been through, the festival was still in full swing. Natsu stayed near the outskirts, enjoying the view and the food, but Kael and Happy were in the thick of everything, dancing and partying with the grateful citizens of Dahlia. They profusely thanked the two mages, insisting that they stay for the festival, and gave them all sorts of honorations. They were dubbed the heroes of Dahlia, and recorded into their history books; Kael the Mighty and Salamander the Mysterious, along with Happy the Gallant. Happy found the nicknames hysterical, and teased both Natsu and Kael relentlessly, until his turn came, in which the teasing flipped back to Happy. All in all, they had a great time.  
Later that night, just as the two were about to head back to the forest to spend their last night, they heard it. The beautiful howls of the sacred wolves echoed throughout the town, their melody lulling the town into a peaceful bliss.   
“Wow,” Natsu breathed, stopping in his tracks. “That’s…”  
“Yeah…” Kael finished.  
It was the most beautiful thing either of them had ever heard, and they would not soon forget their time in Dahlia.   
The next morning, the two ate, and prepared to depart. Somehow, Natsu managed to get his trophy on the train, much to the workers’ and the laws of physics’ disdain. Regardless of the natural laws around the world preventing something so large fitting in that space, it fit anyway, and the three started their six-hour journey back to Magnolia. Well, the six-hour journey was mostly for Happy and Kael, for Natsu, it was a six-hour torture session.  
Eventually, the tortu- I mean, the train ride ended, and they arrived back in Magnolia. Kael said he’d go on ahead and report back to the master, while Happy and Natsu attempted to continue defying the gods by getting the cannon out of the train. Eventually, they did it, much to the train workers’ relief, and the two set off for the guild hall. Everyone in Magnolia stopped in their tracks as a young man walked through town, a massive hellish looking cannon barrel held over his shoulder.   
“What on earth…?”  
“Where did he…”  
“I read Salamander took trophies, but I think this is a little much…”  
“Natshuuuu, I told you you shouldn’t take it with you!” Happy whined.   
“Quiet, Happy! This is the biggest trophy I’ve ever had! I’m sure we’ll figure out something to do with it. Besides, who cares what anyone says.”  
“(sigh) I guess you’re right, Natsu. But you owe me fish!”  
“For what?”  
“I don’t know yet! But you’ll do something stupid sooner or later, and I want to cash in my fish now!”  
“Stupid cat…” Natsu muttered, finally arriving at the guildhall.

[Previously]

“I have returned!” Kael shouted, kicking the doors down.  
The guild roared back their greetings, toasting to the successful return of their ace.  
“How was the mission Kael?” Lisanna asked, greeting him.   
“Ah, not too bad. Crazy dark guild, corrupt mayor, giant cannon, the usual.”  
“Oh, my!” Lisanna giggled.  
“Kael, where’s Natsu?” Mira asked, approaching the two.  
“Why, you got the hots for him?” Kael joked.   
“NO! It’s-it’s just his first quest! And I wanted to make sure he’s ok! That’s all!” Mira stuttered.  
“Relax, Mira, I’m just messing with you,” he said, laughing at his own joke and Mira’s nervous rambling. “Natsu should be here eventually. I need to see the master.”  
“What do you mean he’ll be here eventually? Is he alright?” Lisanna asked, eyeing her now visibly worried sister.  
“Ah, he’s fine. Still a bit sick from the train, but he brought home a whopper this time, and I imagine it’ll take some time to get that thing across town...Assuming he makes it here with it…”  
“Oh dear, what’d he take this time…” Lisanna sighed. The guild by now was well acquainted with Natsu’s trophy hunting, especially Mira, Erza, and Lisanna, seeing as they were the only three who’d ever been on missions with the dragon slayer.  
“Honestly? Just wait and see for yourself. You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” Kael chuckled. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I really do need to report on the mission.”  
He made his way over to the stairs with a wave, leaving the two Strauss siblings to themselves to wonder what it is he brought back. Erza had been listening in on the conversation, and approached the two to aid in their theorizing.  
“What do you think he brought?” Lisanna questioned.  
“I’m not sure, but seeing as even Kael seemed rather exasperated, it must be rather large…” Erza sweated.  
“You saw him dragging that salamander through the forest like it was nothing, if it’s taking him a long time to move, it’s gotta be,” Mira guessed.   
The three sat down, continuing to theorize, whether it was the skull of a monster, maybe a statue, or some sort of animal. The closest they got to the barrel of a cannon designed by Zeref, was ‘a really big sword’ suggested by Erza. Twenty minutes later, they all heard a loud bang outside, as well as two voices.  
“How the heck am I gonna get it inside, Happy?”  
“That’s your problem, Natsu. I wouldn’t have taken it in the first place, and if I did, I would have taken it home first. Why even bring it to the guild anyway?”  
“It’s too big for our house, even you can see that!”  
“SO WHY DID YOU TAKE IT ANYWAY?” Happy wailed.   
Happy entered the guild hall, leaving behind a perplexed Natsu. He was rapidly approached by a swarm of curious guild members.   
“Kael said Natsu brought a really big one this time?”  
“What is it?”  
“Come on, cat! Tell us!”  
“AHHH! If you wanna know just go look!” Happy cried, quickly escaping the swarm of guild members.  
“I must concur with Happy,” Natsu said, approaching the army of his guildmates. “I need to speak with Makarov regarding how to get it inside, feel free to take a look. Jane? Erza? I leave you two in charge of ensuring no harm comes to it and that no one attempts to take it from me while I am away.”  
“For the last time Natsu!” Happy shouted. “You are the only one besides Kael who could possibly lift that thing, and I seriously doubt anyone else wants it!”  
“This,” Natsu replied. “Is exactly why you have no trophies. You must always take excellent care of them, and protect them at all costs. That is what you do with trophies.”  
“I give up!” Happy cried, flying to the bar to try to win some fishies.   
Erza and Mira concurred with their given instructions, and led the pack outside. They were at the doors when they heard another voice outside.  
“WHAT IN THE NAME OF ISHGARIAN GODS IS THAT??” yelled the voice.  
“That’s Gray!” Erza said.  
“Come on! Even Gray is shocked, let’s go see it!” Mira added.  
With that, they burst through the doors only to immediately stop with their jaws hitting the floor.  
“WHAT ON EARTH-LAND-” Erza started.  
“IS THAT?” Mira finished.  
The entire guild was in awe at the massive barrel simply lying on the ground. It had lost the faint red glow from previously, but was still a beautiful masterpiece of weaponsmithing. No longer attached to its base, the details were fully visible, from the jagged metal front, the chains dangling from the back to the middle, and the etched in designs of flames.  
Even after Natsu had brought Makarov to ask his advice on how to get it inside, no one had moved an inch. Eventually, they managed to get words out, and started spearheading questions at the trophy-hunting Salamander. After much pleading, Makarov agreed that it could stay at the guild, though the three of them neglected, or rather intentionally left out, the detail that the canon was a design from Zeref. That was the main reason Natsu wanted to keep it there in the first place, but if Makarov knew that, he’d never allow it to be housed there.   
In the end, they just had Kael break down enough of the walls for Natsu to carry in his prize, much to the guild’s amazement, and they had Laki assist in rebuilding them. Natsu agreed to pay for the damage done, even offering his entire share of the reward to allow it to be housed there.  
“That Natsu…” Lisanna giggled. “He’s really something else… I can see why you like him so much, Mira.”  
“SHUT UP, LISANNA!”


	11. The Eleventh

[Rösch - X784]

“It’s been a long time…” Natsu quietly said. “I...I’m sorry...I should have...I should have done this a long time ago…”  
It was late June, and pouring rain. Natsu was kneeling in front of a set of graves. There were three large stones in the rear, one medium-sized stone in the middle, and three smaller stones in the front. All marked those he’d had to witness die in front of his very eyes.  
“It’s my own fault...I lost all of you...Because I was weak…” he turned to the three smaller graves. “Or because I was scared…”  
The rain continued to pour down on the cloaked man, his furry blue companion standing next to him, with his head bowed.  
“I-I want to move on…” Natsu continued, desperately fighting back tears. “I-I know that-that it’s what you would want...All of you...Igneel...you always said...to live on for those...who couldn’t make it with you...to the future...But why does it hurt so much? You...never told me...that life would keep doing this to me...It hurts...every day it hurts more…”  
“Natsu…”   
“Why? Why do I have to lose everyone? EVERYONE?”  
“NATSU!”  
“WHY, HAPPY? WHY DO THEY ALWAYS DIE?”  
He was in tears, he’d lost so many. Life continued to take from him. It was as if he was atoning for the sins of some previous life, it was like everything he loved was taken, it was as if he was lost on a straight path that led nowhere.  
“Natsu! They don’t always die!” Happy shouted. “I-I’m still here! And-and the guild! When we’re ready, they’ll...they’ll be there for us…”  
“I know...I-I just don’t know...if I can do it anymore…” Natsu whispered. “I-I can’t...if my existence makes others fall…”  
“It DOESN’T and you KNOW that, Natsu!”  
“But IF IT DOES!” Natsu shouted back. “If it does...I need to...I need to protect them…”  
“Natsu…”  
“I’m not...I’m not strong enough…”  
“You are, Natsu,” Happy told him. “No one could have-”  
“IF I WAS STRONGER! I COULD HAVE SAVED THEM! ALL OF THEM!”  
“No you couldn’t, Natsu! You’re breaking yourself!”  
“No, I can-I can move on...I can do it again…”  
“You can, Natsu…”  
“But-”  
“If anyone can do it, it’s you, Natsu.”  
“How? And WHY? What’s the point?”  
“Do it for you. Do it for Igneel and Draco. Do it for our friends that died at Rösch. Do it for the people you’ve killed. Do it for the people you’ve lost. Do it for the friends you still have.”  
“Why?”  
“Because you can, Natsu. If you couldn’t, you wouldn’t still be here…”  
“I need to...I need to get stronger…”  
“And you will.”  
“Will you...will you help me?”  
“Always, Natsu...Until the end of time…”  
“Hey, Happy?”  
“What is it, Natsu?”  
“Promise me...you’ll never leave...And you’ll never throw away...the life you live...for mysake...”  
Happy smiled, “I’ll do my best, Natsu, as you’ll do the same for me.”  
And so he stood, with tears falling from his eyes; pouring and streaming down his face, soaking it near as much as the downpour that drenched him through to the bone. He was broken again. He needed to rebuild himself.  
‘Igneel...Draco...Ashley...Cindy...Treya...Parker...and …’ he thought to himself. ‘For all of you…’  
And then he roared as only a dragon could roar. Unleashing white fire that crackled and fought against the heavens. It burned the sky that housed those who fell in front of his very eyes and it held fast his soul that was trying to join them. And then...he stopped…  
“Let’s go, Happy…”  
“Aye…” he whispered.   
The two set out. Away from the life they had become accustomed to, and back to the darkness that Makarov had pulled them out of. But this time was different. Natsu knew he was entering the darkness, but he had a reason. He knew the only way he could find a source of light was in the darkness. If he surrounded himself in light, it would blind him to what he needed to find. So he entered the abyss, the black, the darkness. And he knew that Happy would always be there...to help pull him back out.  
Rösch - X785  
“I think I’m almost ready…” Natsu whispered. It’d been a year. The White Crown swept the nation like a hurricane. His strength now knew no bounds, and that title that he almost threw away sent shivers down the spines of mages both dark and light. The bounty on his head was so high, anyone who captured him would be set for the rest of their lives. However, therein lied the problem. He hadn’t been touched in well over six months, his flames of anger and determination never giving the enemy a chance to strike. “I’m strong enough now...to protect everyone that I cared about...It still hurts...to think about all of you...But it hurts to not see their faces every day...Jane and Erza...Levi...Lisanna...I miss them all…”  
“Do you think-do you think we can go back now, Natsu?” Happy asked, tentatively.  
“I know you want to, buddy...I think I can try…”  
“Aye, Natsu...I think I’m ready too…”  
Once again they stood and faced the heavens, but this time it wasn’t anguish they felt, but rather, determination. They finally felt like they could head back. 

[Fairy Tail Guild Hall - 3 Days Later]

“Hey, Mira! Another round over here!”   
“Coming right up!”  
Mira was the barmaid now, and she worked hand-in-hand with her little sister, Lisanna. Mira hadn’t done a mission since Natsu disappeared, and Lisanna spent most of her time with her sister.   
The guild had taken time to recover, they lost two members together, and they took a hit to their firepower and, somewhat, their reputation. But like the family they were, they were there for each other, and they pulled through.  
“I’m taking this mission, Mira. I’ll be a few days. It shouldn’t take too long, but another dark guild got taken down, and I wanted to-”  
“I know, Erza. Good luck,” Mira told her. The two had been hit the hardest by Natsu’s absence, Mira finally admitting she might be a little bit in love with the sorrowful dragonslayer, and Erza was in the same boat. That was the biggest reason that they now tended to get along, they were there for each other when they needed it. Since Erza still went on missions, she traveled to places where dark guilds had been destroyed, desperately searching for any clues as to whether it was the White Crown or not.  
“Thank you…” Erza said. “I hope he’ll come back one of these days…”  
Hargeon - That very same day

“What do you mean this is all you have?” a young woman questioned.  
“Sorry, young miss, this town is known for its fishing. Only around 10% can even use magic, so I built this shop for any traveling mages that might happen to be passing through here.”  
The young woman in question, was named Lucy Heartfilia. She was eighteen years old, had shoulder-length blonde hair in a ponytail, and she wore a white and blue halter top with a blue miniskirt. The man she was talking to was a shorter older gentleman who owned a magic shop in the town of Hargeon. It was a port city, and wasn’t exactly known for its magic.   
“But please! Look around and buy something if you can!”  
“Alright, fine. I’m looking for powerful gate keys. Got anything like that?”  
“Powerful gate keys, eh? Well that’s an unusual request. I’m not sure if we have anything like that-”  
“OH! It’s Canis Minor Nikora! The little dog!” she squealed.  
“Well, yes, but it’s not very strong you see…”  
“Oh, that’s fine. I’ve actually wanted this one for a while. I wonder how much it is?”  
“That’ll be 20,000 jewels.”  
“Hmm, sorry about that. I said, I wonder how much it is?”  
“I said 20,000 jewels.”  
Lucy hopped up on the desk, pushing her chest towards the man.  
“How much is it really worth?” she said in her most seductive voice.  
She was now outside, walking down the street complaining to herself.  
“I can’t believe that stingy old man only gave me a 5% discount! Is my sex appeal only worth that much? Come on!” Lucy continued to grumble and complain at the lack of money-saving abilities that her assets seemed to have gotten her.  
“Is that the missing Salamander?”  
“I heard he’s been missing for a year!”  
“Yeah! And he’s downtown right now!”  
“Salamander?” Lucy asked herself. “He’s that fire mage that’s super famous! They say he took out two salamanders by himself! I’ve got to meet him!”   
So, she quickly raced in the direction that the girls had gone. Shortly thereafter, she found herself pushing through a massive crowd of girls trying to get a glimpse at the once missing mage.  
“Why aren’t you pretty, little lady,” the ‘Salamander’ said. “And what might your name be?”  
“Uh-uhm-my name? My-my name’s Lucy!” ‘Why is my heart beating so fast? Is it because he’s a famous mage? Am I in love?’ she thought to herself.  
“Ah, Lucy. What a fine name indeed.”  
“Bora of Prominence,” a low voice spoke, parting the crowd as he walked. “You shall be accompanying me willingly or unwillingly.”  
She suddenly felt the rapid beating of her heart stop and return to it’s normal rate, as she noticed a strange ring on the finger of the ‘Salamander.’  
“Bora? You must be mistaken, for you see, I am Salamander!”  
“Yeah! Quit being so rude!”  
“Salamander is a famous mage! Who’s this creepy dude!”  
“SILENCE!” the hooded man yelled, quieting the crowd. “You are Bora of Prominence. I shall not ask again. Will you accompany me willingly or unwillingly?”  
“I have no idea what you’re talking about! Now if you’ll excuse me-HUUHHH…”  
Before he could finish his excuse, the hooded man had quickly gotten up to him and punched him in the gut, knocking him unconscious. Before the crowd could react, he slipped the charm ring off his finger, and melted, tossing the remains to the side. For some reason, they decided not to question what had just happened, and decided to simply move on with their days, as the mysterious hooded man lifted the ‘Salamander’ on his shoulder and turned to walk away. Well, everyone except one person decided to move on.  
‘Why am I doing this, why am I doing this, why am I doing this,’ she thought to herself before speaking. “Hey! Excuse me! Thanks for saving me!”  
The hooded man turned slightly to her. “Of course, not a problem. I must admit it wasn’t my intention to break his charm spell, however capturing him did seem to have that effect. Quite amusing, isn’t it? How we can unintentionally have that effect on people. One action that you make-” and the figure continued to ramble, much to Lucy’s confusion.   
“Uh, right, of course. So anyway, my name’s Lucy. Do you want to join me for lunch as a thanks for saving me?”  
“Hmmm…” the figure pondered a moment. “I suppose I could, however I should drop this guy off first…”  
“Come on! Just take it! When was the last time you ate at a restaurant?” came a voice from inside the man’s cloak.   
“Uh, what was-” Lucy started to ask.   
“(sigh) Yes, you’re probably right. I’ll bring you back a fish, you take him somewhere and keep an eye on him.”  
“Aye, sir!” said the voice. Then, a small blue cat came crawling out from under the cloak, grabbed the unconscious ‘Bora of Prominence,’ and flew off.  
“Uh, what was-”  
“So! I shall accept your offer! Lead the way, Miss Lucy!”  
“Right…” ‘I knew this was a bad idea,’ she thought.  
The two were eating lunch together, though the cloaked man remained cloaked during the meal, much to Lucy’s confusion.   
“So, uh, N? Did you say your name was?” to which ‘N’ nodded. “Anyway, thanks again for saving me. I’ve seen that magic before. It’s charm magic, though I guess you knew that since you appeared to know who he was.”  
“Of course, think nothing of it. I was merely doing my job.”  
“Thanks to your distraction, I recognized it, and the weakness of charm magic is awareness. I’m actually a mage too! I’m looking to join a guild, but all the popular ones are super hard to get into. I’m not sure if you’re in a guild, but I’m a big fan of a bunch of them! Blue Pegasus seems pretty cool, and the guys there are pretty cute. Phantom Lord is super strong, but they also seem a little down in the dumps. But my absolute favorite is a guild called Fairy Tail! I don’t know if you’ve heard of it, but it’s a super cool guild with tons of awesome members! They have Mirajane who’s the most beautiful model ever! And then there’s Titania Erza, said to be the strongest woman and Queen of the Fairies! They’re so awesome!”  
“I see,” N nodded, thinking about what she said for a moment. “Well, I must be off. Good luck on your journey, and I wish you well on joining the guild you so desire to join!”  
“Oh! Of course! Thanks again!” Lucy said, waving goodbye. ‘Well, he certainly had an appetite...There goes my sex appeal money I guess...He was kinda strange, but I guess I’m glad I did it.’ she thought to herself.

[Later]

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE GOT AWAY?”  
“I’m sorry, Natsu! I didn’t mean to! I was watching him, and he was all tied up like you asked me to, but I guess he woke up and got away before I could stop him!”  
“Ugh, it’s my own fault for leaving a criminal with a cat…” Natsu mused. “Well, come on...let’s go…”  
Elsewhere

“Fairy Tail goes on another rampage, destroying a famous lighthouse defending a caravan from bandits! Haha! They’re the best! Oh my gosh! Mirajane! She’s so pretty!” Lucy was flipping through the magazine Sorcerer Weekly that published articles on well-known guilds and mages. “Oh, this is about that mage I saw earlier! Well, maybe it isn’t, I don’t know that whole situation was kinda confusing. The Mysterious Dual Salamander, one of Fairy Tail’s strongest S-class mages. It says here that no one outside of his guild has ever seen his face, he even stays covered when speaking to clients. After a mission gone astray one year ago he disappeared and no one’s seen him since. That’s weird...I hope he’s ok...Wonder what happened…” The blonde continued her train of thought, only to be interrupted by a familiar figure.  
“Hello there, little lady,” he said, startling her. The man had spiky blue hair, a perpetual smirt, a tattoo over his right eve, and wore a purple and yellow jacket.  
“You’re that jerk from earlier! I thought you got in trouble with that other guy for using charm magic?”  
“Oh, that? Minor charge! They just told me to stop doing it and let me off. The famous Salamander can’t be arrested too easily, you know…”  
“That’s disgusting,” Lucy replied.  
“Oh, come on, can you blame me? I was just trying to feel like a celebrity at my own party! Maybe I can make it up to you? I heard you were trying to join Fairy Tail?”  
“That’s right! You’re in Fairy Tail! Wait, I thought you always hid your face? And it says you disappeared a year ago?”  
“Oh that? I never disappeared at all! They just ran that story when I went on vacation to increase publicity. And I used to wear a cloak! They must have rerun an old article, that’s all!”  
“Hmmmm….” Lucy was not buying this story at all.  
“Well, I guess I can’t convince you if you don’t believe me...Guess you don’t want to join Fairy Tail after all…” he said, starting to leave.  
“WAIT! YES! Can you really get me into Fairy Tail?” she asked, hugging his arm.  
‘Well, that was easy,’ he thought. “Of course! Just head over to my boat in an hour, and we’ll get you all set up. Au revoir!” and with that he was gone.   
“I can’t believe it! I got pseudo-charmed! Ah, who cares. I get to join Fairy Tail!” Lucy ran off to get ready.   
One Hour Later

“Man, this guy just disappeared!” Natsu groaned. They’d been tracking Bora for over an hour, but because of how many people there were in the city, it was near impossible to get a solid lead on him.  
“Aye, sir!” Happy saluted.  
“Oh, be quiet cat! This was the last job before heading back!”  
“Salamander’s party is starting soon! Hurry!”  
“I’m going! We’re gonna be late!”  
“Isn’t it on that yacht down there? We’ll never make it!”  
“Hear that lil’ buddy?” Natsu asked, after watching a group of girls run past them. “Sounds like Bora thinks he’s a salamander...Someone needs to be taught a lesson in proper etiquette…”  
“Aye, sir! Just remember! It’s on a boat!”  
“I know that…”  
Meanwhile, on the boat, Lucy had been invited to have a drink in private with the so-called ‘Salamander.’   
“Open wide, and savor the delectable flavor of wine as it washes over your tongue,” the ‘Salamander’ said, floating several drops of a liquid towards the blonde’s tongue.  
‘THAT’S SO CREEPY!’ Lucy thought, slowly opening her mouth. ‘Just relax. Play with this creep until you get into Fairy Tail, and then never- wait...THIS IS!’   
Just before drinking the liquid, she swatted it away and glared at the man across from her.  
“What are you doing? That’s sleep magic.”  
“Well done, you are quite perceptive! Especially for a blonde…”  
“Look, I don’t know what your game is, but I’m not gonna sleep with you to get into Fairy Tail. I may be desperate, but I’m not that desperate…”  
“Oh, you misunderstand!” he said, smiling. The curtains that had been separating them from the rest of the rooms were opened, revealing around 10 men all carrying unconscious women. “I don’t plan to sleep with you or induct you into Fairy Tail at all. You’re simply merchandise.”  
Lucy gasped as she looked around. There must have been 20 young women that were in the room with her, all unconscious and held by sneering burly men.  
“You used magic...to kidnap people? You’re the worst mage alive!” she shouted, trying to pull out one of her celestial keys.   
“Ah, ah, ah,” the man said, using his magic to take them from her. “Well now, three golden keys, eh? These are worth a fortune! I think I’ll hold on to these if you don’t mind…”  
“No...don’t...my keys…” the blonde started to cry. ‘This is it...I’m gonna be a slave...I can’t believe I-’  
Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud explosion and a man running through the door shouting.  
“BORA! Something’s wrong! A huge wave just appeared out of nowhere and is pushing us to the shore! We’re gonna crash!”  
“You idiot! Don’t use my real name!”  
Moments later, the boat did indeed crash on the shore. Natsu and Happy had taken to the skies, and in order to avoid a motion sickness fiasco that would have ended up worse for everyone involved, he and Happy hatched a plan. Happy flew Natsu high into the air before dropping him. Natsu used his flames to jet propel him towards the water, unleashing a powerful strike that caused a massive wave to push the ship to shore. After Natsu surfaced, the two flew over and assisted the wave with Natsu once again using his feet as jet boosters to finish the job.  
“What’s going on!”  
“Bora! What are we gonna do!”  
“You had your chance, Bora of Prominence,” a voice echoed from above them.  
“Oh crap! It’s that robed guy again…” Bora muttered to himself.  
“You are coming with ME!” the voice shouted, before the ceiling exploded as a cloaked man came bursting through.   
“Hey, I know you!” Lucy exclaimed, wiping the tears from her eyes.   
“Happy, get her out of here...It may get a bit too hot to handle in a moment.”  
“Aye, sir!” a new voice responded, flying in through the ceiling and grabbling the now confused blonde.  
“EEEK! WHAT IS GOING ON!” she screamed, trying to wriggle away.  
“Stop struggling, Lucy! I’m gonna drop you!”  
“HOW DO YOU KNOW MY NAME? WHY IS A CAT CARRYING ME AWAY?”  
“Because he asked me to! Do you want to melt or would you rather stay safe?”  
“WHY WOULD I MELT?”  
“You’re really weird, Lucy.”  
“SHUT IT CAT!”  
While Lucy was having a difficult time understanding why there was a strange blue cat flying her away, Natsu was engaging with the man pretending to be Salamander.  
“Bora of Prominence, there is a 250,000 jewel reward on your capture. Whether you like it or not, you are coming with me.”  
“That’s what you think! Prominence TYPHOON!” Bora shouted, unleashing a whirlwind of purple fires that engulfed Natsu.  
“Hmmph! The bigger they talk-”  
Slurrrrrrrp  
“The harder they- WHAT THE HELL?”  
The purple flames that Bora had just released were now being consumed by the strange hooded figure.  
“That was disgusting. You DARE TAKE THE NAME SALAMANDER?” he roared.  
“Bora...I know this guy...A hooded figure often seen with a blue cat! It’s him! This guy is the missing Dual Salamander! I thought he dropped off the map!”  
“Sounds like one of you knows their information. Fire Dragon’s BLAST WAVE!” Natsu clapped his hands together and orange flames shot out from around him, setting the ship on fire and knocking out everyone except Bora, who managed to escape outside.  
“Oh NO YOU DON’T!” Natsu shouted, chasing him outside.  
“Hah! You fell for it! HELL PROMINENCE!” Bora called, releasing a thick purple beam of fire magic at the dragon slayer.  
“WEAK!” Natsu shouted in response. “FIRE DRAGON’S ROAAAAR!”  
Natsu’s orange flames instantly overpowered Bora, charring his clothes and decimating the boardwalk behind him. It looked like hell had come to Hargeon; the boat was almost entire embers and piles of unconscious smoldering crewmen of Bora, the boardwalk and beach were ablaze, and the building behind Bora had a massive person sized hole in the middle of it.  
“And you call yourself a fire mage…” Natsu muttered walking over and grabbing the now unconscious Bora, loading him on his back.  
“Good work, sir!” Happy called from the sky, setting Lucy down next to him.  
“That...that was amazing! How did you-” Lucy started.   
“Shh,” Natsu said quickly, covering her mouth, and listening intently. “Dammit! We gotta run, it’s the army! Happy, let’s go!” Natsu picked up Lucy and started running.  
“AHHH! N! WHERE ARE YOU TAKING ME!” Lucy screamed.  
“Well first of all, unless you want to be arrested, I suggest running. Secondly, it was my understanding that you wanted to join Fairy Tail. Am I correct?”  
“You can get me into Fairy Tail?” she asked.  
“I can at least take you there!” he responded, setting her down and pulling her by the arm.  
“All right!”  
“Aye, sir!”  
And the three headed off towards Magnolia. Natsu cut off from them after about an hour to deliver Bora someplace, and told the two to continue without him, and he rejoined the two a few hours later. It took them two days until they arrived, Natsu still referring to himself as ‘N’ and never removing his cloak for any reason. While she was suspicious, especially seeing as she was lied to about Fairy Tail once already, she felt like for whatever reason that she could trust this strange cloaked man. She tried to ask him about it several times, but he always avoided the question, so she stuck to largely just talking to the furball. He was good company, she decided, even if he was annoying, and the two enjoyed their time together.   
“Well, here we are,” Natsu said, gesturing to the guildhall.  
“It’s huge! This is Fairy Tail?” she asked, amazed at the sight before her. “That’s so cool! Thanks so- Happy? N? Where are you guys?” Lucy was looking around, but her two companions that had brought her were nowhere to be seen. “That’s a shame...The cat was a bit annoying, but I really liked those two…”  
With that she approached the guild, determined to finally fulfill her dream and join Fairy Tail.  
“Natsu,” Happy whined. “I thought we were coming back today.”  
“We were Happy,” Natsu replied, quieting him. “I just don’t want to steal the spotlight is all…”  
“That’s a lame excuse and you know it Natsu…”  
“Oh, hush…”  
“Natsu…” Happy started in a disapproving tone.  
“Fine...I’m still...Look I’m just nervous...ok? I left...for a year...after everything that happened...and I just...I can’t do it yet...I’m not ready…”  
“Natsu, we were over this… You are ready. The guild will be here and continue to support us.”  
“Look, I’ll leave a mark for Makarov, ok? We’ll talk to him first, and then afterwards-”  
“Promise me that, Natsu. We are going in after speaking with Makarov whether you want to or not, got it?”  
“Fine…”  
So the duo sneaked back over to the entrance, left two fairy tail symbols burned into either pole at the entrance, and disappeared towards the forest. To where he first met Makarov years ago…  
Meanwhile, Lucy had walked up to the guild door. She took a deep breath, and opened the door. On the right side, were a bunch of tables where most of the guild members seemed to be. They were sitting, talking, drinking, and carrying on. On the left side, was a bar, where a few people were sitting chatting away with a young white-haired waitress.  
“Hello! And who might you be?”  
Another young white-haired woman walked up, which Lucy recognized as Mirajane Strauss.  
“Oh my gosh! It’s Mirajane! In the flesh! I’m really here!” Lucy squealed, barely able to contain any excitement.  
“Oh my! Someone seems excited!” Mira giggled. “Now, what can I do for you?”  
“Oh! I’m so sorry! Right! I wanted to know if I could join Fairy Tail? I’m not like super strong or anything, but it’s always been my dream to join and I’d love it if you could give me a chance and I-”  
Mira started giggling and Lucy stopped. “Of course! Come with me, and we’ll get you sorted out.”  
“Really? Thank you so much!”  
Lucy followed Mira to the bar, where she was introduced to Lisanna, Mira’s younger sister. Lucy introduced herself to the two sisters and told them she was a celestial spirit mage. They both found this interesting and briefly chatted about her spirits, before Lisanna went to inform the master that a new member was joining.   
“So, where do you want your stamp?” Mira asked.   
“My left hand, please!” Lucy replied, holding out her right hand. Mira stamped it down, and out came a pink Fairy Tail emblem. “Not that I mind, but how come it’s pink? I mean, I was just curious, you probably don’t know, and I love pink, but it’s just that since I didn’t ask or anything-”  
Mira giggled again, and replied. “Not to worry, I asked the same thing when I joined! Master says that the color has meaning, and it has something to do with someone who has greatly influenced your life in the past or someone who will greatly influence your life in the future! It could be a good person, a bad person, or maybe someone in between. No one really knows!”  
“Oh, so yours is white for Lisanna, and hers is white for you! That makes sense!” Lucy replied.   
“That could be,” Mira replied sadly. “Anyway! Welcome to Fairy Tail, Lucy!”  
“So, this is the new girl, eh?” A short old man had hopped up on the stool next to Lucy, and was gazing intently at her.   
“Hands to yourself, Master…” Mira warned.  
“I know, I know!” Makarov responded. “Welcome to the family, my child.”  
“Uh, right. Thanks, uh-”  
“I’m the guild master, my name is Makarov.”  
“Oh! Excuse me, master. Thank you so much!”  
“Of course my child,” Makarov replied. He turned around facing the rest of the guild members, and shouted, “LISTEN UP YOU BRATS! FIRST OF ALL, WE HAVE A NEW MEMBER JOINING! EVERYONE MEET LUCY!”  
“HI, LUCY!” the guild roared back. Makarov took this opportunity to attempt to jump to the second floor, wherein he smacked his head and fell down, before jumping back up again, this time landing properly.  
“THE COUNCIL’S REALLY HAD ENOUGH THIS TIME, BRATS! ELFMAN! YOU SUCCESSFULLY DELIVERED THE CARGO FROM THE CARAVAN, BUT YOU SCARED THE FAMILY THAT WAS TRAVELING WITH IT!”  
“The guy said education was what made a real man…” Elfman muttered.  
“CANA! YOU CHARGED THE COUNCIL WITH BARRELS OF WINE AGAIN! LOKE! YOU FLIRTED WITH THE COUNCILLOR'S GRANDDAUGHTER AGAIN!” Makarov continued to list the various things that his children had done that had upset the council. “However! If all we do is worry about following rules, then our magic will never progress. Don’t let those blowhards on the council scare you, follow the path you believe in! Because that’s what makes the Fairy Tail guild NUMBER ONE!”   
His speech was met with an outcry of cheers from the various mages, who went back to their various activities of drinking, arguing, and joking around.  
“Well, why don’t I introduce you around?” Lisanna asked.  
“That would be great!”  
Lisanna and Lucy walked around the guildhall, acquainting Lucy with the various guild members and their quirks, such as Loke’s insistence on flirting with every female in the premises, Cana’s love of full barrels of wine, and Elfman’s belief that being a man was important above all else.   
“So, what do you think of the guild?” Lisanna asked, as she and Lucy sat down at a table.   
“It’s not quite like I imagined,” she started, earning a chuckle from Lisanna. “But I think I’m gonna love it here!”  
“I think you’ll fit in just perfectly, Lucy!” Mira said, delivering drinks to the two girls. “How did you get here anyway? Members rarely show up alone for some reason…”  
“Well, I wasn’t alone when I got here, but he just disappeared for some reason,” Lucy complained.  
“Who just disappeared?” Lisanna asked.  
“That’s the thing, I have no idea!” Lucy replied.  
“Now what could you possibly mean by that, Lucy?” Mira asked, now very intrigued at what this potentially delirious blonde was talking about.   
“Well, I don’t know!” Lucy started, telling the story of how she invited a weird man to have lunch after he saved her from a charm spell, then how that same man saved her again from being captured and enslaved. “And then he took me here! But as soon as we arrived, he disappeared! Hey, is everyone ok?”   
After finishing her story, the entire guild hall went quiet.   
“Did you say…N?” Lisanna started, mouth open in shock.  
“A cloaked man...who used fire magic?” Mira asked with tears in her eyes.  
“Yes? What’s wrong? Did I do something-”  
“Tell me! Did he have a funny way of speaking? Seeming to go in circles without ever getting anywhere? Did he travel around with a blue cat that can talk and fly and acts like a goofball especially about fish?” Mira demanded.  
“Yeah, do you know-”  
Just as she was finishing her sentence, a mostly naked young man with dark blue hair burst into the guild hall.  
“GUYS! OUTSIDE! THE ENTRANCE! THERE’S TWO FAIRY TAIL SYMBOLS BURNED INTO THE POLES!” he shouted.  
“It’s really...it’s really him…” Mira whispered, crying slightly.  
“There’s only one man crazy enough to do something like that!” Elfman roared.  
“NATSU!” the guild shouted back, and everyone shot out of the guild like they had been fired out of the cannon he had so long ago brought back as a trophy.  
The only ones left were Makarov, Lisanna, Mira, and Lucy.  
‘So, he’s finally returned,’ Makarov thought to himself. ‘Well, I’d bet my right shoe I know where that brat went off to,’ and he proceeded to leave the guild through the back entrance, going unnoticed by the three girls at the table.  
“Eh? Who’s Natsu? I’m confused. Why is Mira crying?” Lucy was completely lost. After telling her story the entire guild went ghostly quiet, then some guy who didn’t seem to wear clothing properly burst in yelling about burn marks outside, and now everyone ran outside except for the two barmaids one of whom was in tears.  
“You did nothing wrong, Lucy,” Lisanna reassured her, hugging her sister. “It’s just...the man who brought you to Fairy Tail...he’s a member…”  
“EHHH?? Then why didn’t he say anything? And why did he leave?”  
“Lucy…(sniff) you-you know a lot about our mem-members, right?” Mira sniffled.  
Lucy nodded, still confused.  
“Have you heard of one called Salamander?” Lisanna finished.  
Lucy’s eyes widened. “You don’t mean…”  
“Yeah…” Mira answered. “Natsu...the man that brought you here...He’s Salamander...he disappeared a year ago...af-after a mission... that went wrong…” Mira broke down, seemingly unable to finish what she was saying.  
“It’s ok, Mira, it’s gonna be fine…” Lisanna said, hugging her sister. She turned to Lucy, “No one’s seen him for a year. He really meant a lot...to Mira...so after he left she kind of...lost herself for a bit…”  
“I’m sorry, I had no-”  
“You have nothing to be sorry about, Lucy,” Lisanna cut off. “If anything we should be thanking you. If I know Natsu, that’s his sign that he’ll come back soon…”  
“I hope so...So, if you don’t mind me asking, what happened? Why did one of your strongest mages just disappear?”  
“Well, only Natsu and Happy really know what happened, but he told the short version to Makarov. One year ago, Natsu, Happy, and our ace of the time, a man named Kael, went on an SS-class mission. Those missions are a step above S-Class. There was a monster rampaging and killing hundreds up North, and if it wasn’t taken down soon, the council was planning to assemble a force made of the ten wizard saints. They managed to kill it, but on that mission…” Lisanna looked down and whispered, “Kael didn’t make it back alive...Natsu brought his body to Makarov, told him what happened, and left...and he hasn’t been seen since…”

[The Forest Outside Magnolia]

“So, my child, you’ve finally come back,” Makarov said, approaching Natsu and Happy.  
“Good to see you again Makarov, I take it- OW!” Makarov had knocked Natsu over the head with an oversized fist mid-sentence. “What the hell was that for?”  
“For trying to suffer alone,” Makarov answered. “Fairy Tail is a family. We are here for each other. We get through things as a family together. You suffered alone for a year, yes, but think of how the guild felt. How your family felt to lose two members at once.”  
“I-I never thought of it that way…” Natsu whispered.  
“It is understandable to make poor decisions in the wake of despair, my boy, but you need to be surrounded by those who can help you through those times. I think it’s time you come home...However, I have a job for you first…”  
“Anything...I’m-I’m sorry, master…”  
“You can apologize to the guild, I’m not the one who needs it. Anyway, earlier today, Macao’s brat Romeo came in whining about his father not being home yet. I can’t send anyone after him, but I am worried. His mission was on Mt. Hakobe, but he is a strong mage so he does not need any assistance. Do you understand, Natsu?”  
“Loud and clear, master,” Natsu finished. “Loud and clear.”  
“Well, my child, you seem to understand well. I expect you home within the week.”  
“Of course...Thank you…”  
With that, Makarov headed off, giving a wave as he began walking back towards the guild.  
“Hey, Happy?”  
“Yeah, Natsu?”  
“That Lucy girl is gonna need a place to live, right?”  
“Aye, sir!” Happy shouted, knowing exactly what Natsu had in mind.  
Natsu chuckled, donned his cloak, and headed for town.


	12. The Twelfth

[Rösch - X784]

“It’s been a long time…” Natsu quietly said. “I...I’m sorry...I should have...I should have done this a long time ago…”  
It was late June, and pouring rain. Natsu was kneeling in front of a set of graves. There were three large stones in the rear, one medium-sized stone in the middle, and three smaller stones in the front. All marked those he’d had to witness die in front of his very eyes.  
“It’s my own fault...I lost all of you...Because I was weak…” he turned to the three smaller graves. “Or because I was scared…”  
The rain continued to pour down on the cloaked man, his furry blue companion standing next to him, with his head bowed.  
“I-I want to move on…” Natsu continued, desperately fighting back tears. “I-I know that-that it’s what you would want...All of you...Igneel...you always said...to live on for those...who couldn’t make it with you...to the future...But why does it hurt so much? You...never told me...that life would keep doing this to me...It hurts...every day it hurts more…”  
“Natsu…”   
“Why? Why do I have to lose everyone? EVERYONE?”  
“NATSU!”  
“WHY, HAPPY? WHY DO THEY ALWAYS DIE?”  
He was in tears, he’d lost so many. Life continued to take from him. It was as if he was atoning for the sins of some previous life, it was like everything he loved was taken, it was as if he was lost on a straight path that led nowhere.  
“Natsu! They don’t always die!” Happy shouted. “I-I’m still here! And-and the guild! When we’re ready, they’ll...they’ll be there for us…”  
“I know...I-I just don’t know...if I can do it anymore…” Natsu whispered. “I-I can’t...if my existence makes others fall…”  
“It DOESN’T and you KNOW that, Natsu!”  
“But IF IT DOES!” Natsu shouted back. “If it does...I need to...I need to protect them…”  
“Natsu…”  
“I’m not...I’m not strong enough…”  
“You are, Natsu,” Happy told him. “No one could have-”  
“IF I WAS STRONGER! I COULD HAVE SAVED THEM! ALL OF THEM!”  
“No you couldn’t, Natsu! You’re breaking yourself!”  
“No, I can-I can move on...I can do it again…”  
“You can, Natsu…”  
“But-”  
“If anyone can do it, it’s you, Natsu.”  
“How? And WHY? What’s the point?”  
“Do it for you. Do it for Igneel and Draco. Do it for our friends that died at Rösch. Do it for the people you’ve killed. Do it for the people you’ve lost. Do it for the friends you still have.”  
“Why?”  
“Because you can, Natsu. If you couldn’t, you wouldn’t still be here…”  
“I need to...I need to get stronger…”  
“And you will.”  
“Will you...will you help me?”  
“Always, Natsu...Until the end of time…”  
“Hey, Happy?”  
“What is it, Natsu?”  
“Promise me...you’ll never leave...And you’ll never throw away...the life you live...for mysake...”  
Happy smiled, “I’ll do my best, Natsu, as you’ll do the same for me.”  
And so he stood, with tears falling from his eyes; pouring and streaming down his face, soaking it near as much as the downpour that drenched him through to the bone. He was broken again. He needed to rebuild himself.  
‘Igneel...Draco...Ashley...Cindy...Treya...Parker...and …’ he thought to himself. ‘For all of you…’  
And then he roared as only a dragon could roar. Unleashing white fire that crackled and fought against the heavens. It burned the sky that housed those who fell in front of his very eyes and it held fast his soul that was trying to join them. And then...he stopped…  
“Let’s go, Happy…”  
“Aye…” he whispered.   
The two set out. Away from the life they had become accustomed to, and back to the darkness that Makarov had pulled them out of. But this time was different. Natsu knew he was entering the darkness, but he had a reason. He knew the only way he could find a source of light was in the darkness. If he surrounded himself in light, it would blind him to what he needed to find. So he entered the abyss, the black, the darkness. And he knew that Happy would always be there...to help pull him back out.  
Rösch - X785  
“I think I’m almost ready…” Natsu whispered. It’d been a year. The White Crown swept the nation like a hurricane. His strength now knew no bounds, and that title that he almost threw away sent shivers down the spines of mages both dark and light. The bounty on his head was so high, anyone who captured him would be set for the rest of their lives. However, therein lied the problem. He hadn’t been touched in well over six months, his flames of anger and determination never giving the enemy a chance to strike. “I’m strong enough now...to protect everyone that I cared about...It still hurts...to think about all of you...But it hurts to not see their faces every day...Jane and Erza...Levi...Lisanna...I miss them all…”  
“Do you think-do you think we can go back now, Natsu?” Happy asked, tentatively.  
“I know you want to, buddy...I think I can try…”  
“Aye, Natsu...I think I’m ready too…”  
Once again they stood and faced the heavens, but this time it wasn’t anguish they felt, but rather, determination. They finally felt like they could head back. 

[Fairy Tail Guild Hall - 3 Days Later]

“Hey, Mira! Another round over here!”   
“Coming right up!”  
Mira was the barmaid now, and she worked hand-in-hand with her little sister, Lisanna. Mira hadn’t done a mission since Natsu disappeared, and Lisanna spent most of her time with her sister.   
The guild had taken time to recover, they lost two members together, and they took a hit to their firepower and, somewhat, their reputation. But like the family they were, they were there for each other, and they pulled through.  
“I’m taking this mission, Mira. I’ll be a few days. It shouldn’t take too long, but another dark guild got taken down, and I wanted to-”  
“I know, Erza. Good luck,” Mira told her. The two had been hit the hardest by Natsu’s absence, Mira finally admitting she might be a little bit in love with the sorrowful dragonslayer, and Erza was in the same boat. That was the biggest reason that they now tended to get along, they were there for each other when they needed it. Since Erza still went on missions, she traveled to places where dark guilds had been destroyed, desperately searching for any clues as to whether it was the White Crown or not.  
“Thank you…” Erza said. “I hope he’ll come back one of these days…”

[Hargeon - That very same day]

“What do you mean this is all you have?” a young woman questioned.  
“Sorry, young miss, this town is known for its fishing. Only around 10% can even use magic, so I built this shop for any traveling mages that might happen to be passing through here.”  
The young woman in question, was named Lucy Heartfilia. She was eighteen years old, had shoulder-length blonde hair in a ponytail, and she wore a white and blue halter top with a blue miniskirt. The man she was talking to was a shorter older gentleman who owned a magic shop in the town of Hargeon. It was a port city, and wasn’t exactly known for its magic.   
“But please! Look around and buy something if you can!”  
“Alright, fine. I’m looking for powerful gate keys. Got anything like that?”  
“Powerful gate keys, eh? Well that’s an unusual request. I’m not sure if we have anything like that-”  
“OH! It’s Canis Minor Nikora! The little dog!” she squealed.  
“Well, yes, but it’s not very strong you see…”  
“Oh, that’s fine. I’ve actually wanted this one for a while. I wonder how much it is?”  
“That’ll be 20,000 jewels.”  
“Hmm, sorry about that. I said, I wonder how much it is?”  
“I said 20,000 jewels.”  
Lucy hopped up on the desk, pushing her chest towards the man.  
“How much is it really worth?” she said in her most seductive voice.  
She was now outside, walking down the street complaining to herself.  
“I can’t believe that stingy old man only gave me a 5% discount! Is my sex appeal only worth that much? Come on!” Lucy continued to grumble and complain at the lack of money-saving abilities that her assets seemed to have gotten her.  
“Is that the missing Salamander?”  
“I heard he’s been missing for a year!”  
“Yeah! And he’s downtown right now!”  
“Salamander?” Lucy asked herself. “He’s that fire mage that’s super famous! They say he took out two salamanders by himself! I’ve got to meet him!”   
So, she quickly raced in the direction that the girls had gone. Shortly thereafter, she found herself pushing through a massive crowd of girls trying to get a glimpse at the once missing mage.  
“Why aren’t you pretty, little lady,” the ‘Salamander’ said. “And what might your name be?”  
“Uh-uhm-my name? My-my name’s Lucy!” ‘Why is my heart beating so fast? Is it because he’s a famous mage? Am I in love?’ she thought to herself.  
“Ah, Lucy. What a fine name indeed.”  
“Bora of Prominence,” a low voice spoke, parting the crowd as he walked. “You shall be accompanying me willingly or unwillingly.”  
She suddenly felt the rapid beating of her heart stop and return to it’s normal rate, as she noticed a strange ring on the finger of the ‘Salamander.’  
“Bora? You must be mistaken, for you see, I am Salamander!”  
“Yeah! Quit being so rude!”  
“Salamander is a famous mage! Who’s this creepy dude!”  
“SILENCE!” the hooded man yelled, quieting the crowd. “You are Bora of Prominence. I shall not ask again. Will you accompany me willingly or unwillingly?”  
“I have no idea what you’re talking about! Now if you’ll excuse me-HUUHHH…”  
Before he could finish his excuse, the hooded man had quickly gotten up to him and punched him in the gut, knocking him unconscious. Before the crowd could react, he slipped the charm ring off his finger, and melted, tossing the remains to the side. For some reason, they decided not to question what had just happened, and decided to simply move on with their days, as the mysterious hooded man lifted the ‘Salamander’ on his shoulder and turned to walk away. Well, everyone except one person decided to move on.  
‘Why am I doing this, why am I doing this, why am I doing this,’ she thought to herself before speaking. “Hey! Excuse me! Thanks for saving me!”  
The hooded man turned slightly to her. “Of course, not a problem. I must admit it wasn’t my intention to break his charm spell, however capturing him did seem to have that effect. Quite amusing, isn’t it? How we can unintentionally have that effect on people. One action that you make-” and the figure continued to ramble, much to Lucy’s confusion.   
“Uh, right, of course. So anyway, my name’s Lucy. Do you want to join me for lunch as a thanks for saving me?”  
“Hmmm…” the figure pondered a moment. “I suppose I could, however I should drop this guy off first…”  
“Come on! Just take it! When was the last time you ate at a restaurant?” came a voice from inside the man’s cloak.   
“Uh, what was-” Lucy started to ask.   
“(sigh) Yes, you’re probably right. I’ll bring you back a fish, you take him somewhere and keep an eye on him.”  
“Aye, sir!” said the voice. Then, a small blue cat came crawling out from under the cloak, grabbed the unconscious ‘Bora of Prominence,’ and flew off.  
“Uh, what was-”  
“So! I shall accept your offer! Lead the way, Miss Lucy!”  
“Right…” ‘I knew this was a bad idea,’ she thought.  
The two were eating lunch together, though the cloaked man remained cloaked during the meal, much to Lucy’s confusion.   
“So, uh, N? Did you say your name was?” to which ‘N’ nodded. “Anyway, thanks again for saving me. I’ve seen that magic before. It’s charm magic, though I guess you knew that since you appeared to know who he was.”  
“Of course, think nothing of it. I was merely doing my job.”  
“Thanks to your distraction, I recognized it, and the weakness of charm magic is awareness. I’m actually a mage too! I’m looking to join a guild, but all the popular ones are super hard to get into. I’m not sure if you’re in a guild, but I’m a big fan of a bunch of them! Blue Pegasus seems pretty cool, and the guys there are pretty cute. Phantom Lord is super strong, but they also seem a little down in the dumps. But my absolute favorite is a guild called Fairy Tail! I don’t know if you’ve heard of it, but it’s a super cool guild with tons of awesome members! They have Mirajane who’s the most beautiful model ever! And then there’s Titania Erza, said to be the strongest woman and Queen of the Fairies! They’re so awesome!”  
“I see,” N nodded, thinking about what she said for a moment. “Well, I must be off. Good luck on your journey, and I wish you well on joining the guild you so desire to join!”  
“Oh! Of course! Thanks again!” Lucy said, waving goodbye. ‘Well, he certainly had an appetite...There goes my sex appeal money I guess...He was kinda strange, but I guess I’m glad I did it.’ she thought to herself.

[Later]

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE GOT AWAY?”  
“I’m sorry, Natsu! I didn’t mean to! I was watching him, and he was all tied up like you asked me to, but I guess he woke up and got away before I could stop him!”  
“Ugh, it’s my own fault for leaving a criminal with a cat…” Natsu mused. “Well, come on...let’s go…”  
Elsewhere

“Fairy Tail goes on another rampage, destroying a famous lighthouse defending a caravan from bandits! Haha! They’re the best! Oh my gosh! Mirajane! She’s so pretty!” Lucy was flipping through the magazine Sorcerer Weekly that published articles on well-known guilds and mages. “Oh, this is about that mage I saw earlier! Well, maybe it isn’t, I don’t know that whole situation was kinda confusing. The Mysterious Dual Salamander, one of Fairy Tail’s strongest S-class mages. It says here that no one outside of his guild has ever seen his face, he even stays covered when speaking to clients. After a mission gone astray one year ago he disappeared and no one’s seen him since. That’s weird...I hope he’s ok...Wonder what happened…” The blonde continued her train of thought, only to be interrupted by a familiar figure.  
“Hello there, little lady,” he said, startling her. The man had spiky blue hair, a perpetual smirt, a tattoo over his right eve, and wore a purple and yellow jacket.  
“You’re that jerk from earlier! I thought you got in trouble with that other guy for using charm magic?”  
“Oh, that? Minor charge! They just told me to stop doing it and let me off. The famous Salamander can’t be arrested too easily, you know…”  
“That’s disgusting,” Lucy replied.  
“Oh, come on, can you blame me? I was just trying to feel like a celebrity at my own party! Maybe I can make it up to you? I heard you were trying to join Fairy Tail?”  
“That’s right! You’re in Fairy Tail! Wait, I thought you always hid your face? And it says you disappeared a year ago?”  
“Oh that? I never disappeared at all! They just ran that story when I went on vacation to increase publicity. And I used to wear a cloak! They must have rerun an old article, that’s all!”  
“Hmmmm….” Lucy was not buying this story at all.  
“Well, I guess I can’t convince you if you don’t believe me...Guess you don’t want to join Fairy Tail after all…” he said, starting to leave.  
“WAIT! YES! Can you really get me into Fairy Tail?” she asked, hugging his arm.  
‘Well, that was easy,’ he thought. “Of course! Just head over to my boat in an hour, and we’ll get you all set up. Au revoir!” and with that he was gone.   
“I can’t believe it! I got pseudo-charmed! Ah, who cares. I get to join Fairy Tail!” Lucy ran off to get ready.   
One Hour Later

“Man, this guy just disappeared!” Natsu groaned. They’d been tracking Bora for over an hour, but because of how many people there were in the city, it was near impossible to get a solid lead on him.  
“Aye, sir!” Happy saluted.  
“Oh, be quiet cat! This was the last job before heading back!”  
“Salamander’s party is starting soon! Hurry!”  
“I’m going! We’re gonna be late!”  
“Isn’t it on that yacht down there? We’ll never make it!”  
“Hear that lil’ buddy?” Natsu asked, after watching a group of girls run past them. “Sounds like Bora thinks he’s a salamander...Someone needs to be taught a lesson in proper etiquette…”  
“Aye, sir! Just remember! It’s on a boat!”  
“I know that…”  
Meanwhile, on the boat, Lucy had been invited to have a drink in private with the so-called ‘Salamander.’   
“Open wide, and savor the delectable flavor of wine as it washes over your tongue,” the ‘Salamander’ said, floating several drops of a liquid towards the blonde’s tongue.  
‘THAT’S SO CREEPY!’ Lucy thought, slowly opening her mouth. ‘Just relax. Play with this creep until you get into Fairy Tail, and then never- wait...THIS IS!’   
Just before drinking the liquid, she swatted it away and glared at the man across from her.  
“What are you doing? That’s sleep magic.”  
“Well done, you are quite perceptive! Especially for a blonde…”  
“Look, I don’t know what your game is, but I’m not gonna sleep with you to get into Fairy Tail. I may be desperate, but I’m not that desperate…”  
“Oh, you misunderstand!” he said, smiling. The curtains that had been separating them from the rest of the rooms were opened, revealing around 10 men all carrying unconscious women. “I don’t plan to sleep with you or induct you into Fairy Tail at all. You’re simply merchandise.”  
Lucy gasped as she looked around. There must have been 20 young women that were in the room with her, all unconscious and held by sneering burly men.  
“You used magic...to kidnap people? You’re the worst mage alive!” she shouted, trying to pull out one of her celestial keys.   
“Ah, ah, ah,” the man said, using his magic to take them from her. “Well now, three golden keys, eh? These are worth a fortune! I think I’ll hold on to these if you don’t mind…”  
“No...don’t...my keys…” the blonde started to cry. ‘This is it...I’m gonna be a slave...I can’t believe I-’  
Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud explosion and a man running through the door shouting.  
“BORA! Something’s wrong! A huge wave just appeared out of nowhere and is pushing us to the shore! We’re gonna crash!”  
“You idiot! Don’t use my real name!”  
Moments later, the boat did indeed crash on the shore. Natsu and Happy had taken to the skies, and in order to avoid a motion sickness fiasco that would have ended up worse for everyone involved, he and Happy hatched a plan. Happy flew Natsu high into the air before dropping him. Natsu used his flames to jet propel him towards the water, unleashing a powerful strike that caused a massive wave to push the ship to shore. After Natsu surfaced, the two flew over and assisted the wave with Natsu once again using his feet as jet boosters to finish the job.  
“What’s going on!”  
“Bora! What are we gonna do!”  
“You had your chance, Bora of Prominence,” a voice echoed from above them.  
“Oh crap! It’s that robed guy again…” Bora muttered to himself.  
“You are coming with ME!” the voice shouted, before the ceiling exploded as a cloaked man came bursting through.   
“Hey, I know you!” Lucy exclaimed, wiping the tears from her eyes.   
“Happy, get her out of here...It may get a bit too hot to handle in a moment.”  
“Aye, sir!” a new voice responded, flying in through the ceiling and grabbling the now confused blonde.  
“EEEK! WHAT IS GOING ON!” she screamed, trying to wriggle away.  
“Stop struggling, Lucy! I’m gonna drop you!”  
“HOW DO YOU KNOW MY NAME? WHY IS A CAT CARRYING ME AWAY?”  
“Because he asked me to! Do you want to melt or would you rather stay safe?”  
“WHY WOULD I MELT?”  
“You’re really weird, Lucy.”  
“SHUT IT CAT!”  
While Lucy was having a difficult time understanding why there was a strange blue cat flying her away, Natsu was engaging with the man pretending to be Salamander.  
“Bora of Prominence, there is a 250,000 jewel reward on your capture. Whether you like it or not, you are coming with me.”  
“That’s what you think! Prominence TYPHOON!” Bora shouted, unleashing a whirlwind of purple fires that engulfed Natsu.  
“Hmmph! The bigger they talk-”  
Slurrrrrrrp  
“The harder they- WHAT THE HELL?”  
The purple flames that Bora had just released were now being consumed by the strange hooded figure.  
“That was disgusting. You DARE TAKE THE NAME SALAMANDER?” he roared.  
“Bora...I know this guy...A hooded figure often seen with a blue cat! It’s him! This guy is the missing Dual Salamander! I thought he dropped off the map!”  
“Sounds like one of you knows their information. Fire Dragon’s BLAST WAVE!” Natsu clapped his hands together and orange flames shot out from around him, setting the ship on fire and knocking out everyone except Bora, who managed to escape outside.  
“Oh NO YOU DON’T!” Natsu shouted, chasing him outside.  
“Hah! You fell for it! HELL PROMINENCE!” Bora called, releasing a thick purple beam of fire magic at the dragon slayer.  
“WEAK!” Natsu shouted in response. “FIRE DRAGON’S ROAAAAR!”  
Natsu’s orange flames instantly overpowered Bora, charring his clothes and decimating the boardwalk behind him. It looked like hell had come to Hargeon; the boat was almost entire embers and piles of unconscious smoldering crewmen of Bora, the boardwalk and beach were ablaze, and the building behind Bora had a massive person sized hole in the middle of it.  
“And you call yourself a fire mage…” Natsu muttered walking over and grabbing the now unconscious Bora, loading him on his back.  
“Good work, sir!” Happy called from the sky, setting Lucy down next to him.  
“That...that was amazing! How did you-” Lucy started.   
“Shh,” Natsu said quickly, covering her mouth, and listening intently. “Dammit! We gotta run, it’s the army! Happy, let’s go!” Natsu picked up Lucy and started running.  
“AHHH! N! WHERE ARE YOU TAKING ME!” Lucy screamed.  
“Well first of all, unless you want to be arrested, I suggest running. Secondly, it was my understanding that you wanted to join Fairy Tail. Am I correct?”  
“You can get me into Fairy Tail?” she asked.  
“I can at least take you there!” he responded, setting her down and pulling her by the arm.  
“All right!”  
“Aye, sir!”  
And the three headed off towards Magnolia. Natsu cut off from them after about an hour to deliver Bora someplace, and told the two to continue without him, and he rejoined the two a few hours later. It took them two days until they arrived, Natsu still referring to himself as ‘N’ and never removing his cloak for any reason. While she was suspicious, especially seeing as she was lied to about Fairy Tail once already, she felt like for whatever reason that she could trust this strange cloaked man. She tried to ask him about it several times, but he always avoided the question, so she stuck to largely just talking to the furball. He was good company, she decided, even if he was annoying, and the two enjoyed their time together.   
“Well, here we are,” Natsu said, gesturing to the guildhall.  
“It’s huge! This is Fairy Tail?” she asked, amazed at the sight before her. “That’s so cool! Thanks so- Happy? N? Where are you guys?” Lucy was looking around, but her two companions that had brought her were nowhere to be seen. “That’s a shame...The cat was a bit annoying, but I really liked those two…”  
With that she approached the guild, determined to finally fulfill her dream and join Fairy Tail.  
“Natsu,” Happy whined. “I thought we were coming back today.”  
“We were Happy,” Natsu replied, quieting him. “I just don’t want to steal the spotlight is all…”  
“That’s a lame excuse and you know it Natsu…”  
“Oh, hush…”  
“Natsu…” Happy started in a disapproving tone.  
“Fine...I’m still...Look I’m just nervous...ok? I left...for a year...after everything that happened...and I just...I can’t do it yet...I’m not ready…”  
“Natsu, we were over this… You are ready. The guild will be here and continue to support us.”  
“Look, I’ll leave a mark for Makarov, ok? We’ll talk to him first, and then afterwards-”  
“Promise me that, Natsu. We are going in after speaking with Makarov whether you want to or not, got it?”  
“Fine…”  
So the duo sneaked back over to the entrance, left two fairy tail symbols burned into either pole at the entrance, and disappeared towards the forest. To where he first met Makarov years ago…  
Meanwhile, Lucy had walked up to the guild door. She took a deep breath, and opened the door. On the right side, were a bunch of tables where most of the guild members seemed to be. They were sitting, talking, drinking, and carrying on. On the left side, was a bar, where a few people were sitting chatting away with a young white-haired waitress.  
“Hello! And who might you be?”  
Another young white-haired woman walked up, which Lucy recognized as Mirajane Strauss.  
“Oh my gosh! It’s Mirajane! In the flesh! I’m really here!” Lucy squealed, barely able to contain any excitement.  
“Oh my! Someone seems excited!” Mira giggled. “Now, what can I do for you?”  
“Oh! I’m so sorry! Right! I wanted to know if I could join Fairy Tail? I’m not like super strong or anything, but it’s always been my dream to join and I’d love it if you could give me a chance and I-”  
Mira started giggling and Lucy stopped. “Of course! Come with me, and we’ll get you sorted out.”  
“Really? Thank you so much!”  
Lucy followed Mira to the bar, where she was introduced to Lisanna, Mira’s younger sister. Lucy introduced herself to the two sisters and told them she was a celestial spirit mage. They both found this interesting and briefly chatted about her spirits, before Lisanna went to inform the master that a new member was joining.   
“So, where do you want your stamp?” Mira asked.   
“My left hand, please!” Lucy replied, holding out her right hand. Mira stamped it down, and out came a pink Fairy Tail emblem. “Not that I mind, but how come it’s pink? I mean, I was just curious, you probably don’t know, and I love pink, but it’s just that since I didn’t ask or anything-”  
Mira giggled again, and replied. “Not to worry, I asked the same thing when I joined! Master says that the color has meaning, and it has something to do with someone who has greatly influenced your life in the past or someone who will greatly influence your life in the future! It could be a good person, a bad person, or maybe someone in between. No one really knows!”  
“Oh, so yours is white for Lisanna, and hers is white for you! That makes sense!” Lucy replied.   
“That could be,” Mira replied sadly. “Anyway! Welcome to Fairy Tail, Lucy!”  
“So, this is the new girl, eh?” A short old man had hopped up on the stool next to Lucy, and was gazing intently at her.   
“Hands to yourself, Master…” Mira warned.  
“I know, I know!” Makarov responded. “Welcome to the family, my child.”  
“Uh, right. Thanks, uh-”  
“I’m the guild master, my name is Makarov.”  
“Oh! Excuse me, master. Thank you so much!”  
“Of course my child,” Makarov replied. He turned around facing the rest of the guild members, and shouted, “LISTEN UP YOU BRATS! FIRST OF ALL, WE HAVE A NEW MEMBER JOINING! EVERYONE MEET LUCY!”  
“HI, LUCY!” the guild roared back. Makarov took this opportunity to attempt to jump to the second floor, wherein he smacked his head and fell down, before jumping back up again, this time landing properly.  
“THE COUNCIL’S REALLY HAD ENOUGH THIS TIME, BRATS! ELFMAN! YOU SUCCESSFULLY DELIVERED THE CARGO FROM THE CARAVAN, BUT YOU SCARED THE FAMILY THAT WAS TRAVELING WITH IT!”  
“The guy said education was what made a real man…” Elfman muttered.  
“CANA! YOU CHARGED THE COUNCIL WITH BARRELS OF WINE AGAIN! LOKE! YOU FLIRTED WITH THE COUNCILLOR'S GRANDDAUGHTER AGAIN!” Makarov continued to list the various things that his children had done that had upset the council. “However! If all we do is worry about following rules, then our magic will never progress. Don’t let those blowhards on the council scare you, follow the path you believe in! Because that’s what makes the Fairy Tail guild NUMBER ONE!”   
His speech was met with an outcry of cheers from the various mages, who went back to their various activities of drinking, arguing, and joking around.  
“Well, why don’t I introduce you around?” Lisanna asked.  
“That would be great!”  
Lisanna and Lucy walked around the guildhall, acquainting Lucy with the various guild members and their quirks, such as Loke’s insistence on flirting with every female in the premises, Cana’s love of full barrels of wine, and Elfman’s belief that being a man was important above all else.   
“So, what do you think of the guild?” Lisanna asked, as she and Lucy sat down at a table.   
“It’s not quite like I imagined,” she started, earning a chuckle from Lisanna. “But I think I’m gonna love it here!”  
“I think you’ll fit in just perfectly, Lucy!” Mira said, delivering drinks to the two girls. “How did you get here anyway? Members rarely show up alone for some reason…”  
“Well, I wasn’t alone when I got here, but he just disappeared for some reason,” Lucy complained.  
“Who just disappeared?” Lisanna asked.  
“That’s the thing, I have no idea!” Lucy replied.  
“Now what could you possibly mean by that, Lucy?” Mira asked, now very intrigued at what this potentially delirious blonde was talking about.   
“Well, I don’t know!” Lucy started, telling the story of how she invited a weird man to have lunch after he saved her from a charm spell, then how that same man saved her again from being captured and enslaved. “And then he took me here! But as soon as we arrived, he disappeared! Hey, is everyone ok?”   
After finishing her story, the entire guild hall went quiet.   
“Did you say…N?” Lisanna started, mouth open in shock.  
“A cloaked man...who used fire magic?” Mira asked with tears in her eyes.  
“Yes? What’s wrong? Did I do something-”  
“Tell me! Did he have a funny way of speaking? Seeming to go in circles without ever getting anywhere? Did he travel around with a blue cat that can talk and fly and acts like a goofball especially about fish?” Mira demanded.  
“Yeah, do you know-”  
Just as she was finishing her sentence, a mostly naked young man with dark blue hair burst into the guild hall.  
“GUYS! OUTSIDE! THE ENTRANCE! THERE’S TWO FAIRY TAIL SYMBOLS BURNED INTO THE POLES!” he shouted.  
“It’s really...it’s really him…” Mira whispered, crying slightly.  
“There’s only one man crazy enough to do something like that!” Elfman roared.  
“NATSU!” the guild shouted back, and everyone shot out of the guild like they had been fired out of the cannon he had so long ago brought back as a trophy.  
The only ones left were Makarov, Lisanna, Mira, and Lucy.  
‘So, he’s finally returned,’ Makarov thought to himself. ‘Well, I’d bet my right shoe I know where that brat went off to,’ and he proceeded to leave the guild through the back entrance, going unnoticed by the three girls at the table.  
“Eh? Who’s Natsu? I’m confused. Why is Mira crying?” Lucy was completely lost. After telling her story the entire guild went ghostly quiet, then some guy who didn’t seem to wear clothing properly burst in yelling about burn marks outside, and now everyone ran outside except for the two barmaids one of whom was in tears.  
“You did nothing wrong, Lucy,” Lisanna reassured her, hugging her sister. “It’s just...the man who brought you to Fairy Tail...he’s a member…”  
“EHHH?? Then why didn’t he say anything? And why did he leave?”  
“Lucy…(sniff) you-you know a lot about our mem-members, right?” Mira sniffled.  
Lucy nodded, still confused.  
“Have you heard of one called Salamander?” Lisanna finished.  
Lucy’s eyes widened. “You don’t mean…”  
“Yeah…” Mira answered. “Natsu...the man that brought you here...He’s Salamander...he disappeared a year ago...af-after a mission... that went wrong…” Mira broke down, seemingly unable to finish what she was saying.  
“It’s ok, Mira, it’s gonna be fine…” Lisanna said, hugging her sister. She turned to Lucy, “No one’s seen him for a year. He really meant a lot...to Mira...so after he left she kind of...lost herself for a bit…”  
“I’m sorry, I had no-”  
“You have nothing to be sorry about, Lucy,” Lisanna cut off. “If anything we should be thanking you. If I know Natsu, that’s his sign that he’ll come back soon…”  
“I hope so...So, if you don’t mind me asking, what happened? Why did one of your strongest mages just disappear?”  
“Well, only Natsu and Happy really know what happened, but he told the short version to Makarov. One year ago, Natsu, Happy, and our ace of the time, a man named Kael, went on an SS-class mission. Those missions are a step above S-Class. There was a monster rampaging and killing hundreds up North, and if it wasn’t taken down soon, the council was planning to assemble a force made of the ten wizard saints. They managed to kill it, but on that mission…” Lisanna looked down and whispered, “Kael didn’t make it back alive...Natsu brought his body to Makarov, told him what happened, and left...and he hasn’t been seen since…”

[The Forest Outside Magnolia]

“So, my child, you’ve finally come back,” Makarov said, approaching Natsu and Happy.  
“Good to see you again Makarov, I take it- OW!” Makarov had knocked Natsu over the head with an oversized fist mid-sentence. “What the hell was that for?”  
“For trying to suffer alone,” Makarov answered. “Fairy Tail is a family. We are here for each other. We get through things as a family together. You suffered alone for a year, yes, but think of how the guild felt. How your family felt to lose two members at once.”  
“I-I never thought of it that way…” Natsu whispered.  
“It is understandable to make poor decisions in the wake of despair, my boy, but you need to be surrounded by those who can help you through those times. I think it’s time you come home...However, I have a job for you first…”  
“Anything...I’m-I’m sorry, master…”  
“You can apologize to the guild, I’m not the one who needs it. Anyway, earlier today, Macao’s brat Romeo came in whining about his father not being home yet. I can’t send anyone after him, but I am worried. His mission was on Mt. Hakobe, but he is a strong mage so he does not need any assistance. Do you understand, Natsu?”  
“Loud and clear, master,” Natsu finished. “Loud and clear.”  
“Well, my child, you seem to understand well. I expect you home within the week.”  
“Of course...Thank you…”  
With that, Makarov headed off, giving a wave as he began walking back towards the guild.  
“Hey, Happy?”  
“Yeah, Natsu?”  
“That Lucy girl is gonna need a place to live, right?”  
“Aye, sir!” Happy shouted, knowing exactly what Natsu had in mind.  
Natsu chuckled, donned his cloak, and headed for town.


	13. The Thirteenth

Lucy and Mira had just returned home from their successful job. In classic Fairy Tail fashion, the entire guild decided to have a party to celebrate. Lucy was getting to know the members a bit better, and they all congratulated her on completing her first mission. Many of them were quite surprised that Mira actually went with her, seeing as she hadn’t gone on a mission since Natsu’s disappearance. Though the dragon slayer was in some part of all of their minds, no one actually talked about it. It was still quite a sore subject. However, they tried to ignore it, and continued on with their partying. Well, Fairy Tail partying. That is to say most of the guild was currently involved in a massive brawl.  
“I’M A REAL MAN!”  
“PUT ON SOME CLOTHES, STRIPPER!”  
Unfortunately for most of the guild members, though fortunately for Lucy, something would soon be arriving that would quickly end their confrontation. That someone just so happened to be Loke.  
“EVERYONE! SHE’S BACK!” he shouted. Everyone immediately stopped what they were doing.  
“Aw, crap!”  
“I thought she wouldn’t be here till tomorrow!”  
“I’m getting out of here!”  
The guild went from chaos to, well, a different kind of chaos. Rather than beating each other up over trivial disagreements, they were now all desperately trying to clean up, sober up, and some of them were attempting to escape.  
“Who’s back, Mira?” Lucy asked. ‘Loke said she so it probably isn’t Natsu…’ she thought to herself.  
“Oh, it’s just Erza, Lucy!” Mira replied, happily.  
“ERZA? AS IN ERZA SCARLET? THE STRONGEST WOMAN IN FAIRY TAIL?” Lucy shouted.  
“Well, maybe now she is…” Mira muttered.   
“She’s a monster!” Gray moaned, slumping down on the bar near the two.  
“REAL MEN ARE SCARED OF HER!” Elfman shouted from across the room.  
Lucy immediately started picturing a raging beast, towering over them, destroying mountains in one strike.  
“I know what you’re picturing, Lucy,” Gray started. “And it’s way worse than that…”  
Lucy’s eyes widened and she gulped. The doors to the guildhall abruptly burst open, however, whatever Lucy was actually expecting did not show up. Instead, it was a rather beautiful young woman clad in armor. The strange part was she was carrying a massive horn of some sort over her shoulder with just one hand. The newly arrived redhead set the horn down and looked at the guild with a scrutinizing glare.  
“W-what have you got there, Erza?” a less than noticeable member questioned.  
“It’s the horn of a monster I defeated,” the knight replied. “The town decorated it and gave it to me as thanks. Will it be a problem here?”   
“No! Not at all!” the terrified mage quickly answered.  
“Why did she bring that back to the guild?” Lucy whispered to Mira. “It’s huge!”  
Mira giggled before replying. “Oh, it’s just a little habit she picked up from Natsu.”  
“What does that even mean?” Lucy whispered again, still completely lost.  
“Well, Natsu has always been one for keeping trophies,” Mira answered thoughtfully. “He always keeps something, and if he can’t, he just marks it instead.”  
‘That explains a lot…’ Lucy thought.  
“Look over there,” Mira said, gesturing to a far corner of the guildhall. “That’s his pride and joy.”  
“THAT’S A TROPHY HE BROUGHT BACK???” Her voice was still at a whisper level, but she was somehow still shouting.   
“Yep! His first S-Class mission. Some dark guild tried to destroy a village with it, and apparently, he liked it so he just brought it back with him. I can’t imagine how he got it on the train…”  
However, Mira and Lucy’s conversation was quickly cut short when Erza approached the white-haired barmaid.  
“Mira, where is the Master?” Erza questioned.  
“He’s at a conference in Clover right now, sorry Erza,” Mira answered.  
“(sigh) Very well… I have found no new developments on him,” Erza added quietly.  
“Actually," Mira piped up. "We did."  
“Where is he? Has he returned?” Erza’s eyes were wide with some sort of strange mixture of excitement, anger, and relief.  
“Well, not exactly, but apparently he brought Lucy here to the guild,” Mira informed the redhead, gesturing towards the now terrified blonde.  
“He actually brought someone to the guild? What happened? Where did he go?” Erza demanded.  
“Well, that’s the thing,” Mira told her, sadly. “Lucy didn’t know who he was until after she already joined. Apparently, he disappeared before she even got inside…”  
“That’s so like him...He will receive great punishment when he returns!” Erza declared, pounding her open hand with a fist.  
‘Scary…’ Lucy thought to herself, shivering.   
“Well, with that out of the way…” Erza then turned to face the rest of the guild, which was now terrified and deathly quiet. “I have heard some most unpleasant things about the guild while I was away! The Master may not care, but I certainly do! Cana! Get off the table and drink from a glass like a normal person!”  
“But I always drink like this…”  
“Elfman! Stop droning on about the joys of manliness! Gray! PUT YOUR DAMN CLOTHES ON! Macao! ….”  
“Well? Say something at least!”  
“I don’t even know where to start…”  
Macao just looked down at the ground, while his drinking buddy Wakaba patted him on the shoulder reassuringly.  
“Now, since I have received some rather interesting news that put me in a bit of a better mood, I’ve decided I won’t say anything about all of your disappointing behavior. However, it is not to continue!”  
‘She already said a lot…’ Lucy thought to herself. ‘I really don’t want to see her in a bad mood…’  
“Gray!”  
“Yes, ma’am!” Gray quickly replied.  
“I require your assistance. You will meet me at the train station at 10 am sharp tomorrow morning. Is that understood?”  
“Wait, why do I-”  
“Is that understood?” Erza glared.  
“Yes, ma’am!”   
“Good! Mira! One strawberry cheesecake, please!”  
“Coming right up, Erza!” Mira replied, heading off to fill Erza’s order.  
The guild erupted in whispers.  
“Did she really just ask for help on a mission?”  
“Erza hasn’t done missions with anyone except for Natsu and Mira, and she only went with Mira when Natsu was there…”  
“This really must be intense….”  
With cheesecake now promptly in front of her, Erza decided to get to know her new guildmate and possible lead on their missing dragon slayer.  
“So, your name was Lucy, is that right?” Erza asked.  
“U-Um, yes,” Lucy replied, nervously.  
“Welcome to Fairy Tail!” Erza declared, aggressively shaking the blonde’s hand. “While I do treasure each and every one of the members of this family, some of them are rather poor at following rules. I look forward to seeing what you bring to the table!”  
“O-of course…”  
“You know, Erza,” Mira started, leaning towards the two with her elbows on the bar. “You should bring Lucy along with you and Gray tomorrow. It’d be good for her to get experience.”  
“I don’t know if that’s such a good-”  
“Excellent suggestion, Mira!” Erza declared, finishing her strawberry cake. “You shall accompany Gray and me tomorrow. Be at the train station at 10 am sharp. Do not be late, understood?”  
“Yes, ma’am!” Lucy quickly replied.  
“Great! I shall see the two of you tomorrow morning!” With that, Erza departed the guild, the entire guild releasing the breath they’d been holding.   
“Mira,” Lucy groaned. “Why would you do that?”  
“Oh, come on! You could use the experience, and maybe it’ll be fun working with Erza!”  
“How could that be fun?” the spirit mage questioned.  
“Well,” Mira thought for a moment. “I went on a mission with her once that was fun! Just try to figure something out! I’m sure you’ll do great.”  
“I don’t know about that, Mira…”  
With the threat of total annihilation from the now-departed knight, the guild returned to their previous state. Several brawls broke out, Cana hopped back on the table with a freshly acquired barrel of wine, and the noise level returned. Lucy stayed and chatted with Mira for a bit longer, but eventually went home, having to dodge several pieces of furniture and silverware that were flying around on her way. She got home, took a relaxing bath, and went to bed, still extremely nervous about her assignment that would come the next day. For some reason though, she wasn’t quite as scared as she thought she’d be.  
What she didn’t notice when leaving the guild, was a lone figure wrapped in a cloak sitting on top of the guild. ‘This must be serious…’ the figure thought, before returning from where he’d come deep in the forest.  
The next morning, Lucy had arrived at the train station a few minutes early, ensuring her avoidance of Erza’s wrath. It was there that she met up with Gray, who seemed to be there early for the same reason, however, he did seem to forget to get dressed that morning.   
“Lucy? What are you doing here?”  
“GRAY! YOUR CLOTHES!”  
“Ah, crap...I had them on earlier…”  
Gray returned after a few minutes, now fully dressed.  
“So anyway, why are you here?”  
“Mira told Erza I should come to get experience, and for some reason, she agreed…”  
“That does sound like something Mira would do, but agreeing does seem rather un-Erza-like,” Gray assessed.  
“Where is she anyway? She should have been here five minutes ago! I thought she would kill me if I was late…”  
Before Gray had a chance to answer, the missing mage in question began to approach, followed by a gigantic dolley filled to the brim with suitcases.  
“I apologize for my lateness, you may hit me in penance,” Erza declared as soon as she arrived, and bowed her head to the two mages.  
“Uh...no that’s ok, Erza. We haven’t been here long…” Lucy said, staring at the luggage.  
“Do you really need all that stuff?” Gray questioned.  
“Of course I do! Why wouldn’t I?”  
“Nevermind…”  
The three mages boarded the train, still unaware of the very curious hooded figure that was following them…  
“So, want to tell us what you needed us for?” Gray started after the train pulled out of the station.  
“Yes. I was coming home from my latest mission when I stopped at a bar on the way back for a drink...

[Flashback]

Erza arrived at a bar in Onibas on her way home from her latest job, which involved destroying a somewhat large monster for a village. They were quite appreciative, and they paid her well. It was here she overheard a rather interesting conversation…  
“Yo, BARTENDER! Can we get our GOD DAMN drinks over here, or what!”  
“O-of course, sir...I’m terribly sorry.” the bar employee stuttered back.  
“Calm down, Byard. Don’t get your panties in a twist man!”  
“How can I calm down! We were this close to getting Lullaby when we ran into that shitty seal!”  
“Quiet! Someone could hear!”  
“Ugh, dammit!”  
“Calm down, both of you. I can take care of the seal. Just go back to the guild and tell Erigor that I’ll be back in three days.”  
“You sure you can do this, Kageyama?”  
“Of course, you three just scuttle on home…”

[Flashback End]

“I feel like such a fool for not remembering who he is before. If I had known, I could have beat them and forced them to tell me their plans!” Erza declared angrily.   
‘I preferred her when she was in a better mood…’ Lucy cried mentally.  
“Erigor? I know that name from somewhere…” Gray questioned.  
“Erigor, ace of the dark guild Eisenwald. It used to be a legal guild. but after it continued taking assassination requests, they were disbanded by the council. Unfortunately, the fools chose money over rules and continued on. Eventually, Erigor earned his moniker Erigor the Reaper, due to his exclusivity to taking assassination requests..."  
“Th-the reaper?” Lucy nervously asked.  
“Why are you all slimy?”   
“SHUT UP, GRAY! IT’S SWEAT!”  
“What is Lullaby anyway?” Gray asked.  
‘Why does that sound so familiar?’ Lucy thought to herself.  
“I’m unsure, but seeing that it’s sealed, it must be truly powerful magic…”  
“So that’s why you called backup. If it was just a few of those guys you could have beaten them easily, but a full guild you’d need some reinforcements…”  
“Indeed. I wish I could have taken Mira as well, but she hasn’t been on a mission since Natsu left…”  
“Well, actually she went on a mission with Lucy just yesterday…”  
“WHAT? WHY DIDN’T YOU MENTION THIS EARLIER?”  
“I’m sorry! You didn’t ask! I had no idea!” Gray cried in fear.  
“I knew I should have asked anyway! If we are injured on this mission, you may strike me in repentance!”  
“Uh, I’m sure we’ll be fine, Erza,” Gray deadpanned.   
“Do you even know where their guild is?” Lucy asked.  
“Not a clue!” Erza declared.  
‘Great…’ Lucy and Gray both thought.  
“Hey, Erza, now that I think about it, the only members whose magic I’ve seen are Natsu and Mira. What kind of magic do you use?” Lucy asked.  
“Interesting question, Lucy! I use requip magic. I am able to access a pocket dimension in order to store weapons and other battle equipment and summon them at any time.”  
“That sounds amazing!” Lucy exclaimed.  
“Really? I always found Gray’s magic rather beautiful myself.”  
“You think so?” Gray asked, creating a small Fairy Tail insignia in his palm with his ice-make magic.  
“Ice magic?” Lucy questioned.  
“It’s a type of maker magic, ice-make magic. I can essentially create anything out of ice to fight with.”  
The three continued their discussion, seemingly unaware of the cloaked figure who was sitting several rows away.  
‘I knew I should have taken that job against Erigor, dammit!’ the cloaked figure thought to himself, desperately trying not to vomit. ‘Now if only I could get off of this hellspawn of a machine!’  
The train continued on its way down the tracks towards Oshibana station, the town where Erza planned to collect information about the location of Eisenwald. They just arrived, when over the loudspeaker lacrima a voice spoke up.  
“Ladies and gentlemen, we ask that even if this is not your stop, everyone please disembark the train. We are having...uh...technical difficulties, so we require the train to be completely empty while we...uh...repair it.”  
“Something is definitely wrong,” Erza said, walking out of the train along with everyone else.   
“Are you sure? Maybe there really is-” Gray tried to ask, however, he was far too late. A suspicious Erza is not a controllable Erza.  
“YOU THERE! WHAT IS GOING ON?” Erza was currently in the process of ‘interrogating’ some of the train workers for information. That involved asking a question and then knocking them unconscious if they don’t give her a satisfactory response within a few seconds.  
“Erza certainly has a...unique...way of doing things…” Lucy said nervously.  
“That’s Erza for you,” Gray said, almost shivering.  
“WHAT IS GOING ON?”  
“Wait! You’re Titania from Fairy Tail, right?” a terrified train worker said. He had just come out of the building and witnessed the knight’s angry rampage.  
“Indeed I am! Now tell me! Why did you unload the train?”  
“Oh, thank goodness! Listen carefully! The next stop, Kunugi Station, has been taken over by a dark guild. We have no idea what they’re after, but they told us to send the train through and any passengers left on board would be killed!”  
Erza was shocked at this news, but her shock quickly turned to anger when the train began to pull out of the station.  
“Quickly! Follow me!” Erza shouted, racing into town.  
Lucy and Gray nodded at each other and raced after her. They quickly acquired a magic four-wheeler and drove full speed alongside the tracks.  
“Erza! Slow down! You’re going to run out of magic energy before we even get there!”  
“If my hunch is right, that’s Eisenwald! If we don’t get there soon, who knows what will happen!”  
The SE plug that powered the vehicle that Erza was currently driving, was attached to her wrist and was rapidly absorbing her magical energy. Magic vehicles such as this one run off of the drivers’ magic energy, which it absorbs through special plugs called Self-Energy plugs. Erza was nearly overinflating the machine as she rapidly pumped her magic into it, desperately trying to catch up to the rapidly retreating train.  
Meanwhile, on the train, only two people remained. However, they were both rather oblivious to each other, as one was passed out on the floor, and the other was just talking to himself.  
“Soon you will all tremble...You who took our rights from us...You will feel the mighty wrath of Eisenwald! Hahahahahahahahaha!”  
Within twenty minutes, the train arrived at Kunugi Station, giving him a bit of a head start on the flies he was unaware were following him.  
“Ah, there you are, Kageyama,” Erigor said. “And here I was worried you wouldn’t be coming…I assume you brought it with you?”  
“Of course, it’s right here.” The man known as Kageyama reached into his bag and pulled out an ancient-looking flute. It was made of wood, had a three-eyed skull at one end, and gave off a strong feeling of death.  
“Ah, excellent work, Kageyama,” Erigor praised, inspecting the flute. “Now I’m sure you’re all wondering what exactly this beautiful masterpiece here does. Allow me to enlighten you…” Erigor now turned to the rest of Eisenwald’s members, who were all eager to find out more about this supposed ‘ultimate weapon’ that their leader had been so thrilled to finally get his hands on.  
It was during this discussion, that the three Fairy Tail mages finally arrived at the station, shoving through the crowd to enter the station.   
“Excuse me, but you can’t-” one of the workers tried to say before he was knocked out by Erza.  
“Out of the way! We’re from Fairy Tail!” Erza shouted, ignoring the shock and confusion from the rest of the train workers. Lucy and Gray just looked at each other and sighed, before following their rampaging knight.   
“Oh my god…” Lucy whispered. They were running through the station when they came upon a defeated group of what was likely a small military unit. “Are they…”  
“Yes...Most of them are indeed dead…” Erza responded, clear anger in her voice. “There’s nothing we can do about them now. A small unit such as this stood no chance against a full guild.”  
Lucy had to work hard to not get sick at the sight. Her first sight of massive amounts of death. It was hard to stomach. The only person she had seen dead before was her mother, but this was different...These men were killed. They were bleeding and disfigured, their bones broken and at weird angles. This was a slaughter, not some unfortunate disease that took their lives too soon.  
“ERIGOR!” Erza shouted upon entering the main station area. It was filled with Eisenwald members.  
“Is that a fly? How did you get in here? Did someone leave the windows open?” Erigor asked with a smirk. “No matter, flies. You can have your train station back, we have no need for it any longer.”  
“You shall tell me what you plan to do with Lullaby this instant! Depending on your answer I shall decide whether to turn you over to the council or punish you myself!” she yelled again, requipping a sword and pointing it at the reaper.  
Gray shivered slightly, while Erigor just got wide-eyed.  
“I don’t know how you know about that, fly, but you have no chance to stop our plans!” Erigor floated up above the train, glaring down at the three mages.  
“He can fly?” Lucy exclaimed.  
“It’s wind magic…” Gray answered, glaring back at Erigor.  
“You mages have lived in the light for far too long. We’ve been stripped of our rights and our pride! The fools at the council have no idea what they’ve done to us! So, we’re taking matters into our own hands now…” Erigor declared, showing off his new toy.  
“Wait...Lullaby? A three-eyed skull?” Lucy asked. “I read about that! I thought it was just a myth, but that’s real?”   
“Well, it seems one of you flies is quite knowledgeable…” Erigor mused.  
“Well, what is it?” Erza demanded.  
“There’s such a thing as death magic, magic that is meant to kill anything it touches. Lullaby is a flute enchanted with death magic…”  
“Quite right, little fly,” Erigor laughed. “This flute used to be a simple death curse weapon, capable of killing several people at once. However, the legendary black wizard himself, Zeref, modified it. Now it’s the ultimate weapon of death, capable of killing thousands at once with just one song.”  
“THAT’S INDISCRIMINATE MASS MURDER! ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!?” Erza roared.   
“How will killing everyone help get your rights back?” Lucy shouted.  
“We’re long past trying to get our rights back, foolish flies! This is the time for retribution! To pay back everyone who locked us away in fear! Who stuffed us in a cage and threw away the key!”  
The Eisenwald guild members roared their support for their leader, echoing his words of retribution and vengeance.   
“Now if you’ll excuse me, I have an appointment that I really mustn’t be late for...I’ll leave you in the capable hands of everyone here…” Erigor turned to his guild. “Kill them! Don’t let the flies escape!”  
“You’re not going anywhere, Erigor!” Erza roared.  
“Man, the boss gets all the fun!”   
“Those two chicks are hot though...shame we gotta kill them.”  
“I’d say we start with the shirtless guy...I want to keep the blonde for later.”  
“Three people against an entire guild? How are we supposed to win?” Lucy cried.  
“YOU SHALL NOT STAND IN MY WAY!” Erza shouted, charging at the Eisenwald members.  
“You’re not the only one here who can use sword magic, lady!” one of them declared, as several of them requipped swords of their own.  
“Just watch for a second, Lucy. You’ll see why everyone’s so afraid of Erza…” Gray said.  
“I haven’t already seen that?” Lucy asked nervously, terrified at seeing Erza when she was trying to be scary. Gray just smirked.  
“HIYAAHHH!!” Erza swung her sword horizontally and blew back several of the enemy mages. It was like watching a well-practiced dance, as Erza sliced through the guild, blocking, parrying, and striking with perfect precision. Whenever the situation favored it, she would change her weapon, going from a single greatsword, to a spear, to dual one-handed swords, and finally to a massive axe.  
“That’s amazing! I could fall in love with her!”  
“It’s certainly something else, but I want in on the fun too! Ice-make HAMMER!” Gray shouted, creating a massive hammer of ice above several enemy mages, squishing them under its weight.  
“Hey! Don’t leave me out! OPEN! Gate of the Giant Crab! Cancer!” Lucy called, summoning her crab spirit before her.  
“Ready for action, baby.”  
The three mages were easily defeating their opposition, but there seemed to be an endless stream of opposition. For every one they took down, another would show up.  
“Enough of this! I’ll take you all down at once! Requip! HEAVEN’S WHEEL!” Erza called. A brilliant yellow light coated her body for a moment, and she emerged in a completely different set of armor. She had massive wing-shaped metal ornaments on her back, a silver breastplate that covered her chest and hips, and metal straps covering her biceps. The entire armor was a brilliant silver. “DANCE MY BLADES! CIRCLE SWORD!” Erza proceeded to summon around a dozen swords in a ring and launched them forwards, cutting down more than half of the remaining members.  
“Alright, Erza! That was incredible!” Lucy shouted.  
“That’s Erza for you,” Gray replied, smiling slightly. “The armor change is magic only Erza can use called The Knight. Requip magic is fairly common, but The Knight is exclusive to her.”  
“Wait, I’ve seen her somewhere before. Red hair, lightning-fast requip speed, and the ability to change armors? That’s Titania! The Fairy Queen!” one of the dark mages cried.  
“Who cares!” another one shouted. “Fairy Tail’s pathetic now! Ever since Salamander left, they’re lucky to still be standing!”  
"Yeah! Sabertooth is Fiore's finest now!" a third called.  
“Titania?” Lucy asked, continuing on their crusade on the remaining few members.  
“Yeah, I’m not sure when it started, but Erza’s nickname is Titania meaning ‘Queen of the Fairies.’ It has something to do with her being the strongest woman in Fairy Tail, but I don’t know how long she’s had it,” Gray replied.  
A few minutes later, they had finally managed to cut down the last few members of Eisenwald, except for one, who was currently under extremely aggressive interrogation by none other than Erza Scarlet. While physically exhausted, that would not stop her from finding out whatever that menace Erigor was up to, and putting a stop to it.  
“WHERE DID ERIGOR GO?” Erza demanded at the cowering mage in front of her.   
“Hah, l-like I’d tell you an-anything!” the mage sneered, desperately fighting the nervous terror he felt at the knight who just cut down his entire guild.  
Erza summoned a sword and pressed it to his neck. “For every time you don’t answer my question you will gain a new scar! Now, where is Erigor?”  
“She’s terrifying…” Lucy whispered.  
“You have no idea…” Gray answered, shivering.  
“OK! OK! I’ll tell you! He’s on his way to Clover! Please don’t hurt me!”  
“Clover? But that’s-” Erza started, eyes widening.  
“That’s where the guild master conference is being held! Master Makarov is there along with a bunch of the other guild masters!” Gray finished a shocked expression on his face as well.  
“Dammit! We need to hurry! For all we know he could already be there!” Erza shouted, and knocked the mage unconscious. “The four-wheeler isn’t fast enough, and I don’t have enough magic power left to get us there even if it was!”  
“How are we gonna get there in time?” Gray asked furiously.  
“Do you think we could take the train?” Lucy asked.  
“Don’t be ridiculous, Lucy! We couldn’t-wait…” Erza started.  
“ERZA? ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?” Gray shouted. “Do you even have any idea of how to drive that thing?”  
“No, but I can find someone who does! Gray, you get on board! Lucy and I will find someone and persuade him to get you there!”  
“What kind of plan is that?”  
“We don’t have any other options, Gray! Just do as I say!” Erza demanded.  
“Yes, ma’am!”  
“And be careful! Erigor is not to be underestimated! If you have to, just stall him until we get there!”  
“Don’t worry about it, Erza...This pushover is gonna be a breeze,” Gray replied confidently, walking over to the train.  
“Lucy! You’re with me! I’ll need help if I’m going to last all the way to Clover.”  
“Coming!”  
The two ran off, determined to find someone that could get Gray to Clover in time to protect the guild masters.  
“You realize (cough cough) that you’re way too late, flies…” Kageyama told Gray from the ground. “If you even manage to get there, they’ll all be dead long before you have a chance. And even if you could, you don’t stand a chance against Erigor…”  
“That’s what you think, punk,” Gray replied. “But if there’s one thing I’ve learned about Fairy Tail, it’s to never underestimate the power of our guild. I’ll show him something even more terrifying than a dark guild.”  
He then boarded the train, still skeptical of this idea working, however, he trusted Erza and Lucy. ‘Hurry up, guys,’ Gray thought to himself.   
Erza was running out front with Lucy and she ran into a few of the train workers she had run past earlier. “YOU!” she shouted, pointing at one of the workers. “Call the council! We have prisoners for them to pick up! All of Eisenwald is inside! The rest of you! We need you to get the train to Clover NOW!”  
“We can’t just-”  
“THAT WAS NOT A REQUEST, THAT WAS AN ORDER! PEOPLE’S LIVES ARE AT STAKE HERE! TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!”  
“Look, I get that, but-” Erza knocked him unconscious.  
“Do any of the rest of you have issues?” she asked, glaring at the rest of them, who shook their heads. “Good! Now unless you want to be responsible for the possible deaths of hundreds if not thousands of innocent people, you will send the train to Clover! Now!”  
“Right away, Miss!” the train workers scurried off.  
“Lucy! You take the first leg! I need to recover a bit longer and then I’ll take over!”  
“Right!” Lucy replied nervously, hurrying after Erza who had already run over to the magic four-wheeler.  
“QUICKLY!”  
“SORRY, ERZA!” Lucy cried.  
Meanwhile, Erigor was getting ever so much closer to Clover. ‘It’s almost time...I’m sure those flies are all swatted by now. Maybe I should have made a barrier for some insurance? No, even if they aren’t all killed, they’ll never catch up in time! And even if they could, I’d kill them all myself!’ Erigor thought to himself.   
Back at Kunugi station, the train finally began to move. ‘Finally!’ Gray thought to himself.  
‘Ugh….I just woke up too…’ thought another figure, who still hadn’t been noticed on the train. In fairness to the rest of them, however, he had been unconscious for the duration of the fight against Eisenwald. Just his luck that right when he was beginning to stand up again, that cursed machine started moving.  
Gray was pressed up against the window, keeping watch for any sign of the escaped wind mage. Five minutes went by...then ten...then twenty...and finally he saw him, a shocked Erigor who had almost arrived at Clover.  
‘Why is the train running already?’ Erigor thought. ‘There’s no way! Damn flies!’  
‘I finally caught up to you, Erigor…’ Gray thought.  
A few minutes later, Gray arrived at the train station and immediately began sprinting over to where the guild master’s meeting was being held. He arrived just before Erigor, who was looking at him with a furious expression.  
“Well, well, well...Looks like one little fly made it here. While I am rather...impressed...your little journey ends here and now…”  
“Not a chance, Erigor,” Gray declared, getting in his stance. “I’m taking you down!”   
“You can try, little fly, but I’m not giving up just because you managed to catch up to me…”  
“Ice-make LANCE!” Gray called, unleashing a volley of spearheads made of ice at Erigor.  
He dodged them quite easily and snickered slightly. “Is that all you’ve got, fly? Storm Bringer!” Erigor called, swiping his hand across his body, summoning a tornado in front of him towards this ice mage.  
Gray managed to dodge the worst of it but got a few cuts from the power of the wind.  
“Storm shred!” Erigor shouted, launching a series of thin gusts of wind towards Gray.  
“Ice-make SHIELD!” Gray responded, creating a shield made of ice in front of him. They managed to pierce through slightly, but the damage was largely negated. “Ice-make HAMMER!” Gray shouted, summoning an ice hammer above Erigor that came crashing down right next to him.  
“Closer, but you can’t swat the flyswatter!” Erigor charged Gray with his scythe, swinging it in an attempt to decapitate the mage. Gray managed to duck under it in time and attempted to punch Erigor in the stomach, who blocked it with relative ease. Their dance continued briefly, the two dodging or blocking each other’s blows, but Gray was at a clear disadvantage being unarmed, so he managed to gain some distance after one too many close calls.  
“DAMN YOU FLY! GET BACK HERE!” The two mages continued trading spells, neither able to land more than a glancing blow for several minutes, before Erigor lost his patience. “ENOUGH OF THIS! STORM MAIL!” Erigor was immediately surrounded by an armor of wind, which rapidly spun around him.  
“That wind isn’t nearly enough to beat me! Ice-make: bazooka!” Gray declared, firing a thick ice shot from an ice bazooka he crafted. Much to his dismay, it was immediately shredded by the wind before it could ever touch the wind mage.  
“You can’t touch me anymore, little fly! This is my ultimate defense, storm mail! However, you seem to be standing too, so why don’t we fix that little problem. My ultimate attack! Emera BARAM!” Erigor shouted, forming a plus sign with his fingers and firing a massive horizontal tornado of wind several times stronger than his previous one blasting towards the ice mage.  
“Ice-make SHIELD!” Gray called, just before being cut to shreds. When the dust settled, Gray was lying on the ground, arms cut up and bleeding, his shield all but destroyed.   
“While it is impressive you are still in one piece, fly, it is high time you meet your end,” Erigor declared, dropping his storm mail and raising his scythe into the air.  
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that if I were you!” Gray taunted, dodging his scythe and hopping to his feet at the last second.  
“HOW ARE YOU STILL STANDING?” Erigor asked, shocked and angry that the ice mage was just pretending.  
“Never underestimate Fairy Tail! Ice-make SEVEN STRIKE DANCE!” Gray shouted, creating blades of ice on his forearm and elbow. He rapidly struck at Erigor seven times, cutting his chest, abdomen, and arms.  
“AGHHHH!” Erigor shouted, falling to the ground panting. “Stupid...fly…”  
“Tell it to the council, blowhard,” Gray replied, kicking away his scythe, before striking him in the temple, knocking the dark mage unconscious. The ice mage took Erigor’s bag from him and dug through it until he found what he was looking for, a flute with a three-eyed skull. “Jackpot!”  
“GRAY!” Gray turned his head to see both Erza and Lucy running at him. Both seemed exhausted and had worried expressions on their faces.  
“Yo,” Gray said with a wave. “I got him, doing fine.”  
“Excellent work Gray,” Erza said with a smile. “You really have improved a lot over the years…”  
“What can I-” Gray was interrupted by the flute, which had begun to rapidly vibrate in his hand. “What the heck? What’s going on with this thing?”  
“FOOLISH MORTALS! IF YOU WON’T PLAY MY SONG OF DEATH THEN I WILL!” the flute angrily declared. Its voice was loud and full of timbre.   
“Did the flute just talk? Lucy?” Erza asked, just as confused as the other two.  
“Don’t look at me! I don’t know anything about it!”  
Gray dropped the flute and retreated towards Lucy and Erza, who were now set in a defensive stance.  
“MORTALS ARE FAR TOO WEAK TO PLAY MY SONG! I SHALL CONSUME YOUR SOULS MYSELF!” The flute began to grow rapidly, and where once sat a simple instrument, albeit a creepy one, now stood a gigantic monster. It was the same color as the flute, a pale, aged wood, but now stood easily more than ten times the height of any of the mages. Instead of a stomach, it had a large hole, its arm span was gigantic, and atop its giant head sat two horns. In its mouth were razor-sharp teeth, however, it didn’t appear to be able to close its mouth. If it wasn’t so obviously terrifying, it would almost be amusing.  
“Lucy! Go evacuate the guild masters! Gray and I will keep it busy!” Erza ordered.  
“There’s no need for that Erza, we’re all fully aware of the situation.”  
“Makarov? Goldmine? All of you are ok, thank goodness!”  
“I’m a little surprised you thought we wouldn’t have noticed, what with all the racket Gray made with that wind mage earlier…” Makarov grumbled. "Mind telling us what's going on?"  
"I'm not quite sure," Erza admitted. "I can give you the details later, but this thing used to be a flute called Lullaby!"  
"Lullaby?" Blue Pegasus guild master Bob questioned. "I've heard of that, but I had no idea it was living magic..."  
"Living magic?" Lucy asked nervously.  
"The legendary black wizard Zeref specialized in it," Bob said nodding. "His legacy was formed from his demonic creatures of destruction, but that was over four hundred years ago! I can't believe any of them still exist!"  
“I HAVE DECIDED TO TAKE ALL OF YOUR SOULS TOGETHER! PREPARE TO PERISH, MORTALS!”  
“You ready for this, Erza?” Gray asked, preparing a stance.  
“Onward!” Erza declared. “Requip! Black wing armor!” Once again, Erza glowed a bright yellow momentarily for a few seconds, before revealing her new set of armor. It was black as the name implies but sported a silver trim. The armor covered her chest and waist, with large shoulder pads and elbow-length gauntlets. The armor also sported long wings that emerged from the back of the armor.  
“Black wing armor? That raises the attack power of a mage!” one of the guild masters said, watching the two Fairy Tail wizards initiate the fight.   
Erza shot towards Lullaby, sword in hand, and sliced at its figure while dodging its attempts to swat her away.  
“Ice-make LANCE!” Gray shouted, firing his own attack at the monster.  
“RAGHHHHH!” Lullaby roared. “FOOLISH MORTALS! YOU'RE ATTACKS ARE USELESS! I SHALL KILL YOU ALL!”  
The monster fired a massive beam towards a group of guild masters, but before it could hit them Gray intercepted.  
“Ice-make SHIELD!”  
“I’ve never seen a maker wizard so fast before!” another guild master exclaimed.  
The fight continued. For a short while, it looked like Erza and Gray were managing to push the creature back, but after a few minutes, it was clear that the two mages were running on empty. Erza was knocked back from a strike by Lullaby, and Gray was nearly crushed by a tree the creature threw at him.  
“Now, my children! I believe you’ve done enough!” Makarov said. “I’ll-”  
“I don’t believe that will be necessary, Makarov…” Master Bob said.  
“What do you mean? My children could be killed if we allow this to continue!” Makarov demanded.  
“You don’t sense that magic power? Man, you really are getting old!” Goldmine, the master of Quatro Cerberus, added. "Been a while since I felt this much."  
Makarov paused for a moment before smiling slightly. “You’ve finally come back, brat…”  
A single cloaked figure was walking towards Lullaby from behind.   
“That is enough, Demon of Zeref…” the figure said.  
“WHO IS THIS NEW MORTAL THAT DARES ATTEMPT TO GIVE AN ORDER TO ME?” Lullaby roared, turning to face the newcomer.  
Gray and Erza looked at each other, their eyes widened.   
“Is that…”  
“No way…”  
The hooded figure took a stance. His left leg was bent at the knee in front of him while he leaned forward slightly. His arms were behind him and to his side, his fingers bent almost like they were talons, and his hands left a small gap between them. “O’ flames that burn white with holy light, may you join together with those of a raging dragon…” From his right hand a powerful orange fire began shooting out, forming a massive orb of flames with the brilliant white fire that shot from his left.  
“It really is…” Erza whispered, tearing up slightly.  
“Always gotta make an entrance…” Gray muttered, shaking his head and smiling.  
“Master? Who’s that?” Lucy asked.  
“I think you’ll know in a moment, child,” he responded.  
“Royal Dragon Slayer Secret Art...” The orb of flames formed into a katana made entirely of fire, which the cloaked figure grasped in his hands. He dashed forward so quickly had anyone blinked they would have missed it. The figure was now standing behind Lullaby, the sword seemingly disappeared. “Dual Dragon Fire Hellstorm,” he finished.  
“Uh, was something supposed-” Lucy tried to say before she was cut off.  
BOOOOOOM  
A massive eruption of fire burst from the demon, creating a beacon of flaming light. The sound was immense, it alone sent shockwaves through the air. The spell was a perfect mix of white and orange flames, resulting in a gorgeous pillar of burning destruction.  
“AGHHHHHH!!!” the demon screamed, as the fire burned. In a matter of seconds that seemed like hours, the once-massive demon was no more, all evidence of its existence burned away.  
“What power…”  
“He killed it in one shot…”  
“What is he?” The guild masters were in a frenzy, save a few who were acquainted with the said mage.  
“Good to see you again, my boy!” Makarov called.  
“Indee-OOF!” The cloaked figure attempted to reply but was cut off when Erza tackled him to the ground.  
“NATSU!” Erza cried, hugging him fiercely.  
“Ugh...Erza, it’s been-OW!” Once again, Natsu was cut off. This time, it was from a fierce slap from Erza, who immediately went back to hugging him. “I suppose I deserve that…”  
“I can’t decide whether I’m happy you’re back or whether I hate you for leaving…” she whispered.  
Natsu chuckled slightly and returned the hug. “Good to see you too.”  
“I missed you,” Erza added softly.  
“I missed you as well, Erza.”


	14. The Fourteenth

The two remained on the ground for a few seconds before Erza got off him, and the two stood up.  
“Good to see you again, flame-brain,” Gray taunted.  
“I see you still struggle with stripping, Gray,” Natsu replied, happily. “One of these days I’m sure you’ll figure that out.”  
“DAMMIT! HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?” Gray yelled angrily and went off to find his clothes.  
Erza chuckled. “You haven’t changed a bit. However,” she added with a glare. “When we return to the guild, you will still receive punishment.”  
“Of course, Erza. I plan to apologize officially when we return to the guild, but for what it’s worth, I truly am sorry…”  
Before Erza could reply, she was cut off by Lucy who had run over.  
“Natsu? Is that you?”  
“Ah, Lucy! I see congratulations are in order!”  
“What do you mean by that?” Lucy was about to thank him for everything he’d done but was caught off guard by the seemingly random statement.  
“Well, you joined Fairy Tail, successfully completed your first mission, and you helped defeat Eisenwald! All in your first few days! Truly impressive work, I’m certain you’ll do incredibly well,” Natsu explained.  
“Thanks! Wait, how did-”  
“NATSU!” Makarov roared. “YOU DESTROYED THE ENTIRE VILLAGE!”  
Sure enough, the entire area was leveled. The building that the meeting had been held in was nothing more than a pile of ashes, there was a smoldering crater where the beast once stood, and all plant life had been burnt away.  
“Right...sorry...I haven’t had to worry about damage in a while…”  
“HEY! THAT DUDE DESTROYED THE ENTIRE VILLAGE!”  
“GET THEM!”  
Seemingly out of nowhere, a large crowd of people arrived and began to charge towards the group of mages.   
“RUN!” Gray shouted, grabbing Lucy’s hand and taking off.  
“Shall we as well?” Natsu asked Erza.   
“Uh, sure…” Erza said, and the two raced off.   
Eventually, the group of mages managed to lose their pursuers and met back up at the train station.  
“So, my child, finally decided to come back, eh?” Makarov asked.  
“How did you know we were going to be here anyway, Natsu?” Erza asked.  
“I stopped by the guild last night a little before you got back,” Natsu admitted sheepishly. “I told Happy I was going on a job so I left him back at home at the promise that I’d be back later that day and I’d head back.”  
“Wait, you joined another guild?” Gray asked angrily.  
“What? No, why on earth-land would I join another guild? Honestly, Gray, think before you speak sometimes.”  
“If you weren’t at Fairy Tail, and you didn’t join another guild, why did Happy think you were going on a job?” Lucy asked.  
“That’s not important,” Natsu quickly replied, and immediately attempted to change the subject. “So, Erza, how has the guild been? You all look well so I presume it’s been doing alright.”  
“Well, it took a while, but we’re doing alright now,” Erza replied before looking at the ground. “We lost two members at once... It was really hard, Natsu…”  
“I know, Erza…One day I’ll make up for what I did…” Natsu said quietly, placing a hand on her shoulder.  
“So, flame-brain, what have you been up to?” Gray asked.  
“When we return, I shall explain to the best of my ability,” Natsu replied, facing Gray.  
“Natsu, when we get back to the guild, I want you to fight me,” Erza demanded.  
“What?” Natsu looked back at her, shocked. “Why would I do that?”  
“I want to test my limits to see how far I’ve come. Perhaps I’ve finally surpassed you!” Erza declared, grinning.  
“I’m sure if you haven’t already, you will one day, Erza,” Natsu said, grinning. “Now, why don’t we board hell’s only son, and head back, eh?”  
“I have so many questions,” Lucy whispered to Gray.  
“He’ll pass out on the ride home, you can ask them then. Besides he can probably hear us right now,” Gray whispered back.  
“Indeed I can, Gray,” Natsu said while walking towards the train. “Now hurry up, the faster we get on this demon, the faster we get off this demon.”  
Lucy immediately blushed and apologized, but the group quickly followed after their cloaked dragon slayer and boarded the train. The group sat down, Erza and Natsu on one side, and Lucy, Gray, and Makarov on the other. As soon as the train pulled away from the station, Natsu turned green and collapsed.   
“Ugh...somebody...kill me….” Natsu groaned.   
“As much as you deserve to suffer from motion sickness, it’ll be a lot quieter if you just go to sleep,” Erza said and grabbed the ‘dying’ dragon laying him on her lap. “Now you can either sleep normally or I can knock you out again.”  
“You haven’t changed a bit, Erza…” Natsu groaned, and within a minute or two, he was out.  
“What is he-” Lucy started.  
“Natsu gets really terrible motion sickness,” Erza explained. “Mira and I accidentally discovered that he can get to sleep rather quickly if he has something to slow the vibrations down, so he just lays down on my lap and passes out normally. It’s either that or he spends a half-hour groaning and vomiting before passing out. It’s better for all involved…”  
'Accidentally,' Makarov thought to himself. 'Right...'  
Gray burst out laughing, and Lucy just blushed a bit.  
“How lame is that!” Gray said, still cackling.  
“Yes, because exhibitionism is a far better unfortunate circumstance…” Erza replied, glaring at him.  
“DAMMIT! I must have left them at the station!”  
“Right…” Lucy deadpanned. “Anyway, I have a few questions. How come Natsu always wears that cloak? And how was he able to hear me when I whispered to Gray earlier?”  
“Natsu has a bit of an...unfortunate past...I’m afraid that’s all I can say; he doesn’t like people to know what he looks like. As for the hearing, since he is a dragon slayer, his senses are enhanced far beyond that of a normal human,” Erza explained.  
“Ok, well...uh…” Lucy hesitated.  
“Spit it out Lucy, I’m sure whatever it is will be acceptable to ask,” Erza told her.  
“Right...How strong is Natsu exactly? I mean, you guys were both worn out, and I didn’t have enough magic power to help...but he killed Lullaby in only one shot!”   
“Well...that’s actually…” Erza started but paused.  
“I could’ve done that if I hadn’t just beat up Erigor...WAIT! WHAT HAPPENED TO ERIGOR?!” Gray exclaimed.  
“YOU LET HIM GET AWAY?” Erza demanded.  
“I didn’t mean to! Maybe someone else got him? I’m sure that’s it! Yes!” Gray quickly shot out, terrified.  
“You shall face punishment when we return, Gray…” Erza growled towards a very pale Gray. “To answer your question, Lucy, I have absolutely no idea.”  
“What do you mean? I know you haven’t seen him a while, but how strong did he used to be?”  
“Well, that’s the thing...I don’t think anyone but Happy has ever seen him go all out before,” Erza explained.   
“You see my child, Natsu also has a strange sort of ability,” Makarov explained. “I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but you can sense almost no trace of magic power from him unless he is actually in combat. Some of our stronger members such as Erza, Mira, and perhaps even myself have very strong magical presences, even outside of combat it can be sensed. This can make it difficult to sneak up on mages with powerful sensory abilities without extreme concentration. However, Natsu gives off no magical presence at all unless he is physically in combat. In the past, he chose to give off a near-identical amount of power as his opponent, unless there was true danger involved, or he had no desire for combat.”  
“I didn’t think about that…” Lucy said thoughtfully.  
“Actually, come to think of it Master, has anyone ever seen him go all out or release his actual magical power?” Gray asked.   
“Hmmm...Happy has, but to my knowledge, no. He has never been pushed that far, at least not in a long time…” Makarov added quietly.  
“What do you mean by that?” Erza asked suspiciously.  
“Oh, nothing, my child.”  
“Hmmm…” Erza eyed him.  
“Well, I’m kind of curious,” Lucy admitted, glancing at the snoring dragon slayer. “I mean, it would be interesting to see how much power he actually has…”  
Gray smiled and looked over at Lucy. “I like the way you think. What do you say, Erza? If anyone can convince matchstick to do something he doesn’t want to do, it’s you and Mira.”  
“Well...I must agree with you that I am rather curious…” Erza admitted, looking down as well. “While I will assist you, I don’t quite understand why you need me for this…”  
“Riiight…” Gray said, smirking slightly. “Whose lap is Natsu currently passed out on?”  
Erza fiercely blushed. “Wh-what does that have to do with anything?”  
Lucy, Gray, and Makarov all chuckled, and Erza just muttered.   
“How come he got really uncomfortable when he talked about going on a job? I thought you could only get work at a guild?” Lucy asked curiously. “When I met him he was going after Bora of Prominence.”  
“I do not believe I am at liberty to disclose that information, Lucy,” Erza replied. “If you are really curious, you may ask him, however, don’t expect much.”  
“Wait, you know?” Gray asked.  
“I have a good idea,” Erza sighed looking at Makarov, who avoided eye contact. “I don’t recommend you poke your nose into other people’s business, Gray. If he wants to tell you, he will.”  
So the train ride continued towards Magnolia. The topics ranged from Lucy’s experience at Fairy Tail, places to eat in Magnolia, where Erza gave a five-minute lecture on various bakeries that were important to know about, to various sights the experienced mages had seen on their travels. They arrived back at Magnolia that evening, where Erza half-carried half-dragged Natsu off the train until he managed to regain his balance.  
“I’ll meet you guys at the guild, I just have to-”  
“No you don’t, Natsu,” Erza said, grabbing him by the cloak. “Don’t think you’re escaping again. You are coming with me and we are going to the guild.”  
“But I have to get Happy,” Natsu started.  
“Then I shall accompany you and then we shall go to the guild,” Erza demanded. “Lead the way.”  
“Quite persistent. You really haven’t changed,” Natsu chuckled, shaking his head. “Well, he should be waiting over at my house. Come along.”  
“Uh, could I come too?” Lucy asked nervously.  
“I don’t see why not,” Natsu replied.   
Gray glanced at Makarov, who nodded and walked off, and then a group of four mages headed off towards Natsu’s forest cabin.  
After a short while, they arrived.  
“Happy! Let’s go lil’ buddy!” Natsu shouted. The door burst open a moment later, to reveal an ecstatic flying blue cat.  
“Finally! I can get some-ERZA! GRAY! LOOPY!” Happy shouted, flying over and colliding headfirst into Erza.  
“My name is Lucy! Stupid cat!” Lucy shouted.  
“Good to see you again, Happy! I trust you’ve kept Natsu in check?” Erza asked the furry companion, to which Natsu scoffed.  
“Yup! I see what he meant by ‘go on a job’ was ‘go see Erza again!’ Hehehehe!”  
Happy escaped the wrath of an embarrassed Erza to lay down on Natsu’s head.  
“Alright, so can we go back to the guild now?” Gray asked.   
“Aye, sir!” Happy declared.   
“I suppose so,” Natsu answered, and the mages headed over to the guild, Natsu following the rest of them.  
“Well, here we-” Natsu started.  
“You go first, Natsu,” Erza told him, grabbing his arm and throwing him forward. “There will be no escaping.”   
“Man, you really don’t trust me,” Natsu whined but grabbed the door handle. He could hear the chaos inside. The long-missing Dual Salamander took a deep breath, swung the door open, and walked inside.  
The three other mages followed him in suit, to meet a dead silent guildhall, all were frozen in place, staring at the door. Some were mid punch, others were mid wine guzzle, and others still just dropped whatever they were doing.  
“Uh, hello…” Natsu said, rather awkwardly, before removing his cloak.  
“It’s him…”  
“Natsu’s back!”  
“NATSU’S A REAL MAN!”   
The guild members went from a few whispers to a loud cheer, but before anyone else could do anything Mira walked up.  
“Is-is that really you, Natsu?” she whispered.  
“Jane...I-” SMACK  
Once again, the upset female warrior smacked Natsu hard in the face and then charged him in a hug. Natsu took a moment to recover, and several of the guild members winced, before he smiled slightly and returned the hug, returning the guild to its previous roar.  
“Good to see you again, Jane…I missed you,” Natsu told her quietly.  
“I can’t decide if I should kill you or kiss you,” she mumbled into his shoulder.  
Natsu blushed slightly, “Why don’t we discuss those options later. I’d like to say something to the guild if that’s ok.”  
Mira nodded and let go of him, still sniffling slightly.  
“SILENCE!” Erza shouted, quieting the guild immediately. During this time Makarov had emerged from his office, grinning. “Natsu requested to say something to you all, so I expect your attention!”  
“Yes, ma’am!” the guild replied together, terrified of Titania’s wrath should they disobey.  
“Right...thanks, Erza.” Natsu cleared his throat and gazed around the room before starting. “I wanted to...apologize...for everything that I’ve done to this guild. Whether you blame me or not, it is at least partially my fault you lost your strongest member. I have...come to terms with what happened...over this past year, but the blame lies on my shoulders, at least in part. Not only that, but afterward, instead of coming back to help us get past such an event...I abandoned you...all of you in this room...Whatever I consider myself to be, doesn’t matter, however, what I should have learned from my time here is that this is a family...And it is because of me that you lost two family members...together...I should have been there for you. I tried to find the light in my future by returning to the darkness, in fear that staying in the light would blind me from truly moving on...Whether it helped me or not, matters not. What matters is that I caused damage to the members of this guild, and whether or not it ever truly heals will not be determined for some time to come. It is my choice to find some way to make it up to all of you one day...That day may not be today, tomorrow, or even this year...But I hope that someday I shall be forgiven in all of your hearts...I truly apologize…”  
The guild was quiet for a moment, processing the speech their returned member had given. A few sniffles could be heard, and Happy, ever the emotional little bugger, was in tears.   
“Well, you’re back now!” one of the members shouted, earning a roar of celebration in response.   
‘Never change, Fairy Tail,' Natsu thought to himself. ‘Never change…’  
There was a massive party that evening, everyone celebrating the return of their strange-looking dragon slayer. He spoke with Levi about potentially adding a new section to their book, he talked with Lisanna about some of the places he visited, and he admitted to Lucy and Mira that he followed them on their mission and paid for it after figuring out the guy didn’t actually have a lot of money. Mira almost slapped him again for stalking them, but she truly was glad to have her favorite dragon slayer back and was attached to him almost the entire evening. Lucy thanked him profusely for his help joining the guild and then getting her an apartment, trying desperately to give him the reward money she got from Everlue to pay her back. Natsu of course declined, insisting that it was no trouble at all and that he’d gladly spend any and all the money he makes if it helps his guildmates. "Besides," he told her, "the only thing I have to spend money on is fish for Happy. "  
“So, I trust my prize is still in good condition?” Natsu asked, approaching and inspecting his cannon.   
“I should’ve destroyed it in punishment,” Erza grumbled, and Natsu rolled his eyes.  
“So, you really brought this back as a trophy?” Lucy asked him, still a little concerned.   
“Of course! Such beautiful craftsmanship can’t go to waste!” Natsu answered as if any sane person would carry home a giant weapon that probably weighed more than a ton.  
“Right…” Lucy deadpanned.   
“Hey, Matchstick,” Gray asked the fire mage, who was still distracted by the cannon. “Lucy asked on the train and no one actually knew the answer. How strong are you now?”  
“Well, how strong is anyone really? It is definitely a question that one cannot answer simply. I believe there is no such thing as someone who isn’t strong, there are simply those who are stronger than they are. Everyone is strong in some way and-”  
“Just answer the question, Pinky…” Gray groaned.  
“What. Did. I. Say. About. Pinky?” Natsu growled, glaring at Gray.  
“Uh…”  
“Natsu, I am curious as well,” Erza added.  
“I wanna know too, Natsu,” Mira cooed.  
“(sigh) Well, I really don’t know how to answer that…” Natsu told them. “If I had to guess? Assuming I didn’t have to worry about potentially destroying an area or killing my opponent…”  
The four mages that were with him sweated slightly, glancing at each other.  
“In a life or death situation where I was protecting the guild...It would take approximately two wizards of Makarov’s level to overpower me.”  
Lucy’s jaw dropped to the floor, Mira almost fainted, Erza just looked shocked, and Gray laughed.   
“Yeah, right! We know you’re tough, lizard breath, but don’t you think that’s overselling yourself just a bit?”   
“Well, as I said, I’m really not sure. I’ve only gone all out once and I try not to think about it…” Natsu muttered, and Happy patted his shoulder lightly.  
“Well, I think you should prove it,” Gray declared, smacking his fist into his palm.  
“How am I supposed to do that?” Natsu asked.  
“Just release your magic, as much as you have without casting a spell. You always keep it hidden for some lame reason, so no one’s ever felt it before,” Gray explained.  
“It’s not a ‘lame’ reason, it’s so I don’t knock people unconscious as I walk around,” Natsu retorted. “And no, I don’t want to do that. Most people in the guild would be knocked out instantly, and Makarov would yell at me for causing property damage on my first day back.”  
“Please, Natsu,” Mira begged, giving him puppy dog eyes. “I haven’t seen you in so long…”  
“Jane…” Natsu sighed, though it was obvious he was about to cave.  
“I have a suggestion,” Lucy piped up. “Erza challenged Natsu to a fight tomorrow, right? How about before they start, Natsu does...whatever Gray was talking about!”  
“Excellent suggestion, Lucy!” Erza declared, much to Natsu’s disappointment. It was hard enough to decline a request from Mira, there was no way he could decline one from both her and Erza. “Just...don’t use it on me…” Erza added quietly.  
“Of course not, Erza. You think I’d ever put you in danger?” Natsu asked like it was the dumbest suggestion in the world, and Erza just blushed slightly. “Anyway, I think I’m gonna head home. Happy, you’re free to stay if you’d like.”  
“Aye, sir! But I’ll come back anyway, they ran out of fishies.”  
“Of course they did, you’re here!” Natsu chuckled.   
“Do you have to leave, Natsu,” Mira whined.  
“I’ll see you tomorrow Jane, you can watch me wipe the floor with Erza. You’ve always enjoyed that, right?” he asked.  
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that, Natsu! I’ve gotten far stronger this year as well!” Erza declared.  
“I guess so…” Mira answered, and gave him a hug. “Good night, Natsu.”  
“Good night, Jane,” Natsu replied, returning her hug. He let Mira go and turned to the rest of his guildmates. “I’ll see you three tomorrow as well. Have a good night.”  
They bid their farewells, and Natsu and Happy headed off into the night.  
“I can’t believe he’s finally back…” Mira sighed happily. “How come he ended up with you?”  
“Well, it’s actually an interesting story…” Erza told Mira of what happened on their mission. How they discovered Eisenwald’s plans with Lullaby, and how Natsu had shown up at the last moment to destroy the demon.   
“Oh, my! Just like Natsu, always one to make an entrance.” Mira shook her head.   
“Mira, are you two dating?” Lucy asked, seemingly out of the blue.  
“Wh-what? Where did you get that idea from?” Mira squeaked, blushing fiercely.  
“Yes, such an outlandish suggestion…” Erza muttered, glaring slightly at Mira.  
“Oh, I’m sorry...It’s just you two seemed so close, and he had a pet name for you so I just thought-”  
“It’s not a pet name!” Mira squeaked again, somehow blushing harder. “He just-uh-he gave me a nickname! That’s it! He said it was because giving nicknames was a human thing! That’s it!”  
“Right…” Lucy deadpanned.   
“However, it is interesting that he didn’t give Erza a nickname...What do you think about that, Erza?” Mira challenged, recovering a few moments later.  
“Shut your mouth, demon! I don’t need a nickname!”   
Lucy quickly felt out of place as the two began to bicker fiercely, and eventually made her way over to Levi, which she had quickly befriended earlier. The two were both bookworms so they had quite a lot in common.  
“So, I heard you and Natsu were writing a book?” Lucy asked, sitting by the bluenette.   
“Well, we wrote one, but Natsu wanted to add a few things to it. Something about the difference between Royal Dragon Force and regular Dragon Force. Frankly, I don’t know what he meant, but we’ll talk about it later.”  
“What's the book about?”  
“A few years ago, Natsu had mentioned in passing that he always told his fathers that he would write a book about them one day, talking about dragons, dragon slayers, dragon customs, and all things like that. I love reading, but can’t write for anything, so we decided to work on it together! It was a lot of fun, and I learned a lot!”  
“How come Natsu likes dragons so much? I guess it makes sense since he uses dragon slayer magic…” Lucy mused.  
“Oh, he didn’t tell you yet? Natsu was raised by two dragons, one named Igneel who was the White Fire Dragon King, and the other was named Draco. The two were brothers, and Draco found Natsu in a village that had been destroyed, so they did something called a Dragon Soul Ritual, and taught him dragon slayer magic.”  
“Natsu was raised by actual dragons??” Lucy exclaimed. “I didn’t know those even existed! I guess that explains all that weird jewelry he wears…”  
“I can’t tell you too much, but both of Natsu’s dragons were killed when he was much younger by the same dragon that destroyed his village after he was born. I don’t know how many dragons are left now, but his necklace is made from a talon from Draco, his scarf is made from the scales of Igneel, and the earrings are made from scales of another dragon that was killed in that fight. I think his name was Archon,” Levi explained.  
“Oh, that’s terrible,” Lucy said sympathetically.   
“Yeah...I don’t know what happened after that though, he’s quite...private... about a lot of things. Happy, Erza, Mira, and Master Makarov probably know the most about him, so if you’re still curious you can talk to them, but they are quite skilled in dodging questions. I guess he swears them all to secrecy.”  
“Erza said something like that…” Lucy replied. ‘I wonder what he’s so scared of people finding out…’  
The evening continued, and eventually, the members slowly left the guildhall, after a long night of celebrating the return of their mysterious Dual Salamander.

[Earlier That Day]

In the magical world, there is something called the Magic Council. The Magic Council is somewhat of a governing body, where a group of ten people work together to maintain order throughout the land. They worked out of a building called ERA. That day, they were discussing somewhat of a pressing matter…  
“On the matter of the destruction of the town Clover and relation to Lullaby,” Chancellor Org started. “It has been reported that Fairy Tail is responsible for the destruction of the entire village. However, it is also because of Fairy Tail that the guild masters’ lives weren’t ended and nearly the entirety of Eisenwald was apprehended.”  
“So what?” councilor Michello answered. “That doesn’t change the fact that they attacked a dark guild without proper permission and destroyed an entire town! Those Fairy Tail mages have been at it for years and-”  
“Now, now, Michello,” councilor Siegrain interrupted. “Focus on what they did do for us. Let’s not forget what would have happened if the guild masters had perished. Who would that responsibility fall to? Should the public find out that a weapon of Zeref still existed and was actually used...well...let’s just say some of us would likely be forced to retire…”  
“Are you suggesting it is the fault of one of our members that Lullaby was unsealed?” councilor Leiji asked suspiciously.  
“Not at all, councilor Leiji. I just think that the magical world would be...rather boring without Fairy Tail, don’t you think?”  
“Apparently,” councilor Yajima piped in. “Fairy Tail’s Salamander returned during this incident as well.”  
“Is that so?” Chancellor Org stroked his long gray beard momentarily, before speaking up again. “In that case, I have a proposition…”  
The Chancellor proposed his plan, which was approved by a majority 7 to 2. Siegrain scowled slightly.  
“Not to worry, Master Siegrain.” After the meeting had been concluded, a young woman named Ultear approached. “While this is an unexpected change of plans, I’m sure your knowledge of Salamander could still prove rather useful.”  
“You may have a point, Ultear…” Siegrain smirked. “I do believe you have an excellent point…”

[The Next Day - Outside of the Fairy Tail Guild Hall]

“Do I really have to do this?” Natsu was currently standing in front of his fellow guild members, preparing to ‘demonstrate his power’ as Mira put it, or ‘prove how weak you really are’ as Gray put it.   
“Yes! Now stop your complaining!” Erza demanded.  
“Be a REAL man!” Elfman shouted.   
“Very well...I assume since none of you actually want me to potentially endanger myself or anyone here,” Natsu eyed the crowd suspiciously, to which he received a few nervous nods. “I will not use Dragon Force. Honestly, I hope I never need to use it again…”  
“What is dragon force? And is it really dangerous?” Lucy asked from the crowd.  
“Dragon force is the ‘final stage’ so to speak, of a dragon slayer’s power. Many say it gives them the power that rivals that of a dragon. I would say that is inaccurate, however, it is an incredible boost in power, and should its user be strong enough, it has the potential to reach that of a dragon. Though again, that’s not a given. It’s all user-dependent.”  
“Does this have something to do with the royal dragon force you mentioned yesterday?” Levi asked.  
“Yes, royal dragon force is something that has, to my knowledge, never before been achieved by humans. I myself have only ever used it once, and I fell unconscious shortly after using it. It significantly upgrades my magical power and strengthens my spells, however-”  
“QUIT STALLING, STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE!” Gray shouted.  
“I haven’t heard that one in a while…” Natsu mumbled, annoyed, yet impressed at Gray’s seemingly improved insult skills. “I warn you one final time, those of you who are below S-Class will likely be unable to stand, and some of you may be knocked unconscious.”  
“Get on with it!” Elfman roared.  
“Fine…” Natsu stood in front of them and closed his eyes. Happy was keeping his distance, knowing exactly how much power Natsu actually had, which put a few members on edge, but their curiosity got the better of them. He began to breathe slowly, gently releasing more and more magic power.  
“What? You expect people to get knocked out from this?” Gray asked, exceedingly disappointed. However, following that statement, Natsu’s eyes shot open and seemingly caught fire. A massive amount of magical power was released, trembling and cracking the ground underneath him. It was thick enough that a few members were on their knees already, and all of them felt intense pressure.  
“Sweet Mavis!”  
“I’ve only felt this much from Gildarts, Kael, and Makarov!”  
“Not bad, flame brain, but I’m still standing,” Gray taunted. He was exceedingly impressed by the massive amount of power Natsu had, not that he’d ever admit it, but still...Natsu had expressed his power quite dramatically, and this, while immense, was not quite up to the level Natsu had described.  
“That was my first magic container,” Natsu said, closing his eyes once again.  
“THERE’S MORE?”  
“SWEET MAVIS, WHAT IS HE?”  
“HYAAHHHH!” Natsu shouted after a few more deep breaths, and once again shot his eyes open. This time, the ground below him cracked. Just as Natsu had said, most of the members were knocked unconscious immediately, Gray was on one knee, and only Mirajane, Erza, and Makarov were still standing up, though all but Makarov were struggling.  
‘Just how strong is he?’ Erza thought to herself.  
‘If this is without dragon force...Natsu what were you doing this past year?’ Mira thought.  
‘Well, as I expected...he has long since surpassed me...I dare say he has a shot as one of the four Gods of Ishgar…’ Makarov internally smiled, proud of how far his child had come.   
Natsu then closed his eyes again and began rapidly reeling in his power. Opening the second seal was not something he enjoyed doing, and he never planned on doing it in the first place, but he had disappointed everyone by leaving for a year, and he really didn’t want to disappoint them again. After a few moments, the power was gone, and it was almost as if it was never there in the first place. The pressure that felt like monsters were stepping on their backs was now nothing more than gravity.  
“Now that is exactly why,” Natsu explained with a sigh. “I never open my second seal, and rarely ever release the magic on my first one.”  
Gray managed to stand up, his eyes still extremely wide, and just nodded. Happy flew over laughing and landed on Natsu’s shoulder.  
“I told you, didn’t I? You totally owe me fish, Gray!”  
“Whatever, cat…” Happy had made a bet with Gray. If Gray was able to remain standing and conscious, Happy would do anything Gray wanted for an entire day. If Gray fell unconscious, he owed Happy fish for a week, and if he fell over but managed to keep consciousness, he owed Happy fish for the day. “I’ll pay up later. Once everyone wakes up, I want to see Erza’s fight. That is...if she isn’t too scared to-”  
Gray was cut off by a sword pointed to his throat. “I’m sorry, were you saying something, Gray?” Erza said with a glare.   
“No, ma’am!” he quickly replied.   
What they didn’t notice, was a frog-like creature, whose eyes were wide in shock, approaching from behind them. The frog creature, after freezing for a moment, scribbled something down on a piece of paper. Coming to terms that yes a wizard just knocked almost his entire guild unconscious by doing nothing more than demonstrating his magical power, began to reapproach his target.  
“Attention! This demonstration is now concluded!” the frog creature announced, stepping around the unconscious Fairy Tail members. “I am here as a messenger from the Magic Council. Natsu Drakeneel is under arrest for multiple counts of property damage in the town of Clover. I have been ordered to apprehend you and return to ERA.”  
“What is the meaning of this?” Erza demanded.  
“NATSHUUUU!” Happy wailed, flying over hugging onto him.   
“Wait, you can’t take Natsu! He just got back!” Mira ran up to the dragon slayer and stood in front of him protectively.  
“Jane…” Natsu said softly, placing his hand on her shoulder. “It’ll be fine. I’ll go.”  
“But you just got back!” Mira whimpered, looking at him with tears in her eyes.  
“I must agree with Mira! Gray, Lucy, and I are all responsible as well!” Erza declared.  
“I have only been given the task and authority to arrest Natsu ‘Dual Salamander’ Drakeneel,” the frog messenger responded.  
“Erza, come here for a moment,” Natsu said beckoning the knight over. “I’ll be with you shortly, allow me to say goodbye briefly, will you?” he added to the council messenger.  
“Very well,” the messenger replied and walked off a short distance to allow him a moment. Normally, he would have said no, but seeing as the messenger was just that, a messenger, he knew that should Natsu not go willingly, he had no real ability to bring him. ‘Especially,’ the messenger thought to himself. ‘This guy. I’m not sure an entire army could take him if he didn’t want to go…’  
Erza approached Natsu, and he huddled slightly with the two women.   
“Natsu, I don’t agree-”  
“Hold on, Erza, I know what you mean. However, I have a hunch that I’m not really in trouble…” Natsu explained.  
“What do you mean?” Mira asked him.  
“You’re gonna be taken away, Natsu! I always knew this would happen someday!” Happy continued to wail.  
“Calm down, Happy. Think about it. They are fully aware of what happened and why the town was destroyed, that much is clear. However, if they let the event blow over, the council looks weak. I’d bet you anything that this is just a slap on the wrist to show that they still have authority. I mean, if I was really in trouble, do you think they’d only send a messenger? To arrest an S-Class wizard from the strongest guild in Fiore?”  
“I suppose that makes sense,” Erza mused thoughtfully.  
“Ok...you better come back soon, Natsu. Break out if you have to,” Mira said.  
Natsu smiled and gave both of them a quick hug. “Of course. I’ll probably be back in a few days.”  
“Come back soon, Natsu…” Happy sniffled.  
“Of course, lil’ buddy! If I’m gone more than a day, you can stay with Erza or Mira!”  
With that, Natsu walked off with the messenger. The frog attempted to put magic-canceling handcuffs on him, but a simple glare made it clear that that was not going to happen.  
About five minutes later, the rest of the guild members started to wake up.  
“What happened?” Lucy moaned. “Have Erza and Natsu had their fight yet?”  
“No, we didn’t have a chance,” Erza replied, helping her up.  
The rest of the guild followed suit, standing up and mumbling confusedly. “Master?” Erza asked.  
Makarov nodded, cleared his throat, and addressed the members. “As he warned you, the moment Natsu released his magic, most of you were rendered unconscious and the rest fell to their knees. Only Erza, Mira, and I were able to remain standing. Unfortunately, the fight was unable to start as Natsu was taken by a member of the council for charges from the incident in Clover.”  
“What?”  
“He was taken?”  
“He actually knocked us out without using a spell? What on earth is that guy?”  
“We should at least testify for him!” Lucy exclaimed. “I mean, he saved all of us! Why would he be arrested for saving lives?”  
“Don’t worry too much, Lucy,” Mira said. “Natsu thinks it’s just the council trying to show off their strength, and he made a pretty good argument.”  
“You’re not worried at all?” Lucy asked her.  
“Well...I guess I am...but I trust Natsu. He said he was going to be back, so he’ll be back,” Mira said with a determined smile.  
Most of the guild cheered their support before returning to the guild. ‘You better be right about this, brat…’ Makarov thought to himself.

[ERA - Meanwhile]

‘I’ll see you very soon, Salamander,’ Siegrain thought to himself. ‘Or should I say...White Crown…’


	15. The Fifteenth

[ERA - Later That Day]

Natsu was still being accompanied by his amphibious messenger, and they had recently arrived at their designated destination. The halls were quite busy, filled with frog-like creatures, wizards, rune knights, and other various beings that worked for the magic council. While approaching the courtroom, where Natsu would be 'tried' for his crimes, a rather familiar face was waiting for him. An unfortunate case for Natsu.  
"Ah, if it isn't the infamous Dual Salamander," the man said, smirking slightly. "I dare say it's been too long, hasn't it? Natsu?" The man in question wore a white coat that was open around the neck. He had mid-length blue hair, with part of it draping over the middle of his forehead, and an intricate red design over his right eye.  
"Siegrain…" Natsu growled slightly.  
"What a shame, and here I thought we were going to have a touching reunion...It truly has been too long," the man revealed to be Siegrain said, approaching Natsu and leaning down to add in a whisper. "Don't worry, little dragon slayer, I'm only a thought projection...However, you may want to ensure you keep quiet on our little secret...It would be rather...unfortunate if your identidy were to be revealed…"  
"Damn you, Siegrain," Natsu muttered.  
Siegrain stood back up and nodded at the messenger, before smirking in a rather sinister-like manner at the furious dragon before him. "Well now, I suppose I shall see you inside. For now, I'll leave you as you are…" With that, he was gone, leaving a seething Salamander and a shocked messenger.  
"You know some very powerful people," the amphibious messenger sputtered out.  
"I believe 'person' is the wrong term for that creature," Natsu growled under his breath. Fortunately, he was quiet enough to not garner a response, and the two continued inside.  
They entered into a fairly standard courtroom. There was a set stand where Natsu was led, there was a long table where five council members sat, and various other locations where other council workers that had been tasked with other jobs sat. The door was guarded by two rune knights, which quite honestly, Natsu had to restrain himself from laughing at. No one brought to the magic council would be subdued by only two rune knights.  
Before the trial started, Natsu's messenger gave the centermost councilor a note, to which he read it and dismissed the frog.  
"Natsu Drakeneel," Chancellor Org opened, in a loud, booming voice. Org had a long gray beard and mustache, a gray ponytail, and his right eye seemed permanently closed. He wore a white robe, was rather tall, and had a commanding in nature. "You stand before the magic council under multiple charges of property destruction on a grand scale. I also must formally request you remove that cloak; hiding yourself is an insult to the council."  
"Very well, Chancellor," Natsu replied, as he slowly removed his cloak.  
As per usual, there were a few gasps at his feral appearance. However, much to Natsu's surprise, the council members themselves didn't seem all that confused. It was mostly the other workers that were caught off guard.  
"Now, regarding your charges, the council has found you guilty on all counts. You are to remain imprisoned here overnight and will pay damages in the amount of two million jewels. Mr. Drakeneel, would you like to add a statement in relation to your verdict, or will you accept our provided terms?"  
"Actually, Chancellor Org," Natsu started, smiling slightly at Siegrain. Siegrain on the other hand nearly lost his composure. He had been resting on his hand smiling at the young dragon slayer, but now sat up quite quickly and almost glared at Natsu, almost daring him to say anything else. "I'd like to formally request that Fairy Tail is not punished for actions that I made alone. Am I correct to assume that no blame is to be given to my guild?"  
"That is correct, Mr. Drakeneel," Chancellor Org replied, oblivious to Siegrain's mix of relief and seething anger at the dragon slayer, who was taunting him and loving every moment of it. "Our witness reports claim that the damage was done by a cloaked man recognized as the Dual Salamander of Fairy Tail. Due to the circumstances, your punishment has been severely lessened, however, crimes left unpunished give way to reckless ignorance of rules."  
"Of course, Chancellor," Natsu replied, nodding.  
"There is one other matter I would like to address with you, Mr. Drakeneel," the Chancellor spoke once again. "We at the council have been made aware of your rather extraordinary magical abilities from multiple sources. Some claim you are currently the strongest mage in Fairy Tail, and we received a report that your magical power far exceeds that of your master, Makarov. It is regarding these statements that I would like to ask if, should we ever have an opening, you would be interested in participating in a trial for the ranks of the Ten Wizard Saints."  
"Chancellor Org, he seems rather young to be considered for a position. Not to mention, Fairy Tail's reputation…" councilman Michello contested.  
"I would have to respectfully disagree with you, councilor," Yajima responded. "In terms of status, I do not think age or your associated guild should be part of the consideration. We judge the wizard saints in terms of magical abilities and character."  
"I find your offer rather intriguing, Chancellor," Natsu said, eyeing Siegrain once again, who had placated a neutral face in place of the briefly shocked one he had previously had. "While I am not entirely sure if the statements regarding my abilities will reach your expectations, should this matter come up again...You may consider me interested…"  
This got a harsh glare from Siegrain, however, none other than Natsu seemed to notice it.  
"Very well, Mr. Drakeneel. Should this matter come up again, we may contact you for a trial. You are hereby dismissed to carry out your sentence."  
"Thank you, Chancellor," Natsu said, cloaking his face once more, and following his guide outside the room, to where his room for the next day would be.  
'Damn you, Salamander,' Siegrain raged in his mind. 'You are not the only pawn to be captured…'  
"Chancellor, I must ask what news you received in order to suggest such a position to this rather peculiar youngster?" councilor Leiji requested.  
"We know nothing about him! Outside of Fairy Tail, we in this room may be the only ones who've seen his face! Anyone that secretive has to be hiding something," Michello agreed.  
"I am quite aware gentlemen," Org replied. "However I am quite interested in his abilities...And it couldn't hurt to have another dragon slayer among the saints. Especially one with a more tolerable attitude…"  
Most of the councilors present grumbled their agreement with that particular statement, even Siegrain had to privately agree. Not that he cared in the slightest for the power of the council, however, the decision made some sense.  
After the meeting adjourned, Siegrain returned to his office, only to be greeted by a young, rather beautiful, black-haired woman.  
"So, Siegrain," she started, smirking. "The flaming white assassin in the ranks of the wizard saints, eh? I must say, that could result in a change of plans."  
"On the contrary, Ultear," Siegrain smiled. "It was never my intention to use him. He is rather strong, and I do not believe anyone other than myself among our ranks could capture that menace. I simply wished to remind him to stay away. She will be, and always has been, our true target…"  
Meanwhile, Natsu was currently locked away in a prison cell, thinking of the offer given to him. In reality, Natsu had made his interest clear simply to piss off Siegrain, however, now he was giving it serious thought. On the one hand, that could be dangerous. The more people that knew about him, the more likely people would find out who he was. The more people who found out who he was, the more danger Fairy Tail would be in. Natsu was rather confident in his ability to defend himself, so he knew that they'd go for the few people close to him as an indirect method of wreaking vengeance on The White Crown.  
Another thing that came to the dragon slayer's mind, was his comparison to the current members. He knew all of them by name, however, he only really knew the power of a handful. So, he decided, what better to do than make a list…

[Natsu's Journal]

First Wizard Saint - God Serena  
Said to be the strongest wizard in all of Ishgar, and one of the few wizards whose magic I am aware of. Uses dragon slayer magic, hover, it is the fake version. Has a total of eight dragon lacrima implanted inside him  
Second Wizard Saint - Draculos Hyberion  
Third Wizard Saint - Wolfheim  
Fourth Wizard Saint - Worrod Sequen  
Fifth Wizard Saint - Keira Maldova  
Sixth Wizard Saint - Benna Maldova  
I believe she and Keira are related, but I don't know in what way. I am only aware of their names, nothing more.  
Seventh Wizard Saint - Makarov Dreyar  
The current master of Fairy Tail, and extremely wise and powerful mage. Uses titan magic as well as magic of the light variety. Has knowledge of the three legendary fairy spells, though I do not know how many he has the ability to cast.  
Eight Wizard Saint - Josè Porla  
Ninth Wizard Saint - Siegrain  
Menace to the world and disgrace to humankind. Relatively strong, however, he is truly no match for anyone above him.  
Tenth Wizard Saint - Jura Neekins  
Joined the ranks rather recently, however, he is said to be both powerful and wise. Jura is currently the ace of Lamia Scale. Perhaps one day shall surpass Makarov. I believe he uses earth magic, due to his moniker 'Iron Rock Jura'

[Back To Reality]

His list now finished, he puzzled over the names. Already he was filled with rage at Josè, though for what reason he couldn't tell. Something was calling for hatred at that man, however, he ignored it. Seeing Makarov was nice for Natsu, the man who saved him from himself, and one of the only ones who knew the darkest secret he held. God Serena was another name that he wasn't a fan of. Dragon lacrima were offensive to him, those wielding them believed that they actually reached the power of a true dragon slayer, and he'd met one that thought he was superior. What a joke! If only they understood the power of dragons they wouldn't think that...especially that of a dragon king.  
'Well,' Natsu thought. 'Now what am I supposed to do? This sounded like a better idea in theory…' His thought process had been to either judge those already a member in comparison to himself or perhaps to try and get a feel for if his name belonged somewhere on that list. While Natsu was by no means arrogant, he did believe that if God Serena, the fake dragon slayer, was their strongest mage, he definitely had a spot on the list. Not to mention, as powerful as Makarov was, Natsu wouldn't even have to use his full power to defeat him. Most of it, granted, and he'd probably be on the losing end without using his second seal, but still not all of it nonetheless. Unfortunately, he had no idea of how strong pretty much any of the others were, so this turned out to be a bust.  
From there, his thoughts drifted elsewhere, namely to his two favorite Fairy Tail mages. He still felt terrible for leaving. Of course, the guilt he felt for the rest of the guild was by no means fake, but Natsu felt some sort of special connection to the two as if something was trying to punish his mind for disappointing them. It was bad enough for anyone else to hurt them. Should anyone fly into Erza or perhaps a stray chair hit Mira, there would be hell to pay. But now it was different. No one had accidentally ruined Erza's cake, no one had spilled something on Mira's dress that she had been super excited about showing off. This time it was him who hurt them, he left them without a word, lost in a whirlwind of emotions. Someday, he'd make it up to the two of them.  
One thing Natsu did understand, however, were the feelings the two held for him. Romance was rather unimportant to the dragon slayer, so he never felt the need to seek it out. He had very few reasons that he walked the earth every day, the most important being the mission given to him by his father. That was one reason he never went out of his way to respond to the clear vibes from the two warring females. Another being they'd never approached him about it directly, so he was unclear if they even knew how they acted towards him. The last reason was only really obvious to Natsu, and perhaps Levi had she actually taken the time to think about it. Dragons didn't have human relationships, and dragon kings were even more different…  
Dragons had a special kind of relationship, that being mating. Creating a dragon slayer involved a process called the Dragon Soul Ritual. A special ritual was performed, which would weaken the dragon, or in his case dragons, that placed it upon the human and gave them the abilities of a dragon. Enhancing their senses, growing fangs, and gaining their magic were among the most well-known and prominent, but another was the process of mating. Dragons would choose one partner and stay that way for eternity, even after death it was believed the two stayed together. If one had been evil and was to be sent to the depths of hell, the other, no matter how pure of heart, would join them there. Such was the life that dragons were to live. Dragon slayers obtained this as well and would choose one mate and remain by them for life. There was a fairly simple process, and contrary to the belief that most would hold if you were to say 'mating ritual', it actually didn't involve that much. It was rather similar to a wedding, in fact. The dragon slayer would mark his chosen mate in the form of a bite on their neck after a short ceremony, creating a mark that was rather similar to a tattoo on that location. The mark would differ based on the slayer's type, however, it was more than just a mark. In reality, it was a magic container. In emergency situations, the mate could use some of the magic given to them by their mate to protect themselves, not that they'd need to very often considering how protective dragons were. While the container could be refilled by the slayer, it was not recommended to be repeated in excess. Why? Natsu had no idea, it wasn't mentioned to him. Following the mark, the mate would bite in return, giving a matching mark to the slayer, however, this one was just that. A mark.  
Dragon kings, however, were different. Apparently, dragon kings would always select two mates. Supposedly, this was to ensure that an ideal child would be born to be next in line for kingship. Royal dragon magic was uncommon to be passed down to children, with only around a 25% chance in males and 10% chance in females that the child would inherit the royal abilities. This caused a change, where an extra mate was taken to ensure kingship would be passed down by each type, be it fire, water, wind, or anything else. Perhaps this is why dragons submit to the authority of any dragon king regardless of their nature, for example, an ice dragon is expected to obey the command of the Earth Dragon King should such a scenario arise. Though they were loyal first and foremost to their respective element king, of course.  
Regardless, Igneel had said that it was rather likely for Natsu to inherit this trait. Also, since he happened to be both a royal dragon slayer and a regular dragon slayer, there was a chance he would end up taking three. Truly, Igneel had no idea, but he made sure to make Natsu aware that this was rather uncommon for humans, and regardless of how many mates he was to take, if any at all, he would need to explain to them the reasons behind it. Perhaps this was the biggest reason Natsu chose to accept that they had feelings for him but personally did nothing about it. Humans didn't do things like that, he was well aware of that fact. Loke was the only human he had met who had more than one partner, and he seemed to be seen as some sort of scum for it. Besides that, Natsu had his doubts about who Loke really was. From the moment that lady-magnet joined, Natsu knew he didn't smell right. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't exactly human…  
'WHAT AM I THINKING ABOUT?' Natsu thought, finally halting his brain's rampage. He had been considering an offer of becoming a wizard saint, the most prestigious and sought out title of all the wizards in Ishgar, though it would be in the future and still an if, and then all of a sudden he was thinking about mating with his two best friends in the guild. 'This must be why I need Happy to keep me sane. Bahamut* help me now…'  
Before he could attempt to refocus his mind, however, he heard the familiar sounds of someone approaching his cell. From the smell alone, he knew who it was without even looking.  
"Ultear," Natsu said smiling. "It really has been a while. You didn't happen to miss me, did you?"  
“I do wonder about that,” Ultear smirked slightly.  
“Now, Ulty, as much as I love seeing you, did you need something or did you just come to see me?”  
“Right to business today? Come now, Natsu, you could humor me at least a little bit for old times’ sake…”  
“Oh and I would, however, I’m a bit locked up at the moment…”  
“Well that should give you more free time, don’t you think?”  
“Come on, Ulty...I know you want something, just spit it out,” Natsu sighed.  
“Oh, you’re no fun at all, Natsu! Fine...I actually have a job for you,” Ultear pouted slightly.  
"Oh? And what sort of job do you think would fit me? If you're asking what I think you're going to, my answer is no. The White Crown is dead, his last job was in Hargeon…"  
"While that is interesting to hear, I actually need something else from you. And I think you'll agree quite hastily when I explain…"  
"Well? What is it?"  
Fairy Tail Guild Hall - After the attempted duel  
"Real men keep their clothes on!"  
"Keep talkin' like that, scarface and you'll get what's comin'!"  
Once again, the Fairy Tail mages were involved in an all-out brawl, though for some reason, Erza didn't seem to be bothered by it. She was busy talking to Mira, Happy, and Lucy at the bar.  
"Are you sure we should've let him go? We just got him back, I'd hate for him to leave again…" Mira asked disappointedly.  
"I was a bit concerned about that at first as well, but I think that we should trust in him to return to us," Erza replied.  
"Aye! Natsu's here to stay!" Happy chirped up.  
"I still can't believe he managed to knock almost everyone out without even trying! Just what is he?" Lucy questioned, still in shock.  
"Well, I wouldn't say he wasn't trying," Happy giggled.  
"What does that mean, cat?" Lucy asked.  
"Natsu has near-perfect control of his magic now. If he wants someone to get burned to a crisp from his fire, it happens. If he wants someone to feel like they're on the surface of the sun but not actually burn, it happens. And if he wants to demonstrate his power without anyone falling over, he can do that too!" Happy explained. "Though it definitely wasn't always that way, he only figured that out recently."  
"I thought he said the reason he keeps it contained is so he doesn't hurt people?" Mira questioned, a bit confused.  
"Well, that's partially true," Happy answered. "I don't need to explain that Natsu is a scatterbrain, so if he lost focus because he got lost in thinking of how important a single leaf is in comparison to the rest of the world, there is a chance he could accidentally destroy a mountain. But the real reason is so no one recognizes him," Happy added the last part, looking at Mira and then Erza to reinforce his point.  
"I see…" Erza nodded in understanding.  
"That's so like Natsu!" Mira giggled. "Only our Natsu would accidentally wipe out an entire town because he was thinking about why his cloak was black!"  
"Aye, sir!"  
"Why is Natsu so secretive about who he is? Sorcerer Weekly has done a few articles on him, so it isn't like he's totally unknown," Lucy asked.  
"I don't know how much I can tell you, Lucy," Mira responded sadly, catching Happy's eye who was also frowning slightly. "He seems to be ok with telling people about what happened to his dragons, but the rest of his life is a mystery to most of the guild."  
"Aye," Happy agreed. "It's probably better if you don't ask. As much as I don't like it, Natsu is right that it's better that you don't know."  
'What could he possibly have gone through?' Lucy thought to herself, gulping.  
"All that's important is who he is now," Erza declared. "Everyone has somewhat of a past they'd rather not share, Mira and I are of no exception."  
"I suppose that's true," Lucy nodded, thinking of her own past.  
The group continued their discussion for a few more minutes when someone burst through the doorway. The someone in question was a very excited man, who seemed to be of average height. He wore jeans and a pink T-shirt with sunglasses resting on his head rather than his eyes. He seemed of average build, no real muscle to speak of, with mid-length tan hair that had a single spike near the back.  
"Fairy Tail! So COOOL!" the man shouted, excitedly looking around the room. "I haven't been here in so long! Fairy Tail is the coolest! So cool!"  
"Who's that?" Lucy asked.  
"Oh no…" Mira groaned slightly. "That's Jason from Sorcerer Weekly...Erza? Can you take care of the brawl and I'll go see what he wants…"  
"Very well, Mira," Erza replied and stood to face the guild. "HOOLIGANS! CEASE YOUR FIGHTING OR FACE PUNISHMENT!"  
The members quickly stopped their rampage and in the blink of an eye were casually sitting as if they had never been fighting at all.  
'Wow…' Lucy thought, sweating slightly. "Wait, did she say Sorcerer Weekly?"  
"Indeed," Erza answered, sitting back down.  
Meanwhile, Mira had gone up to Jason.  
"Jason! Nice to see you again! What are you doing here?"  
"Mirajane! So cool! I can't wait for our next photoshoot, they're always so cool!" Jason exclaimed, still seemingly running on an endless source of energy.  
"I'm sure they are...But why are you here? I'm not supposed to come in for another month or so," Mira questioned.  
"I got the coolest news! Fairy Tail's Dual Salamander is back! He's the coolest of the cool! Is he really here? Can I see him? An article about the Salamander would be super cool!"  
"Well, he was here, but he probably won't be back until tomorrow," Mira sighed slightly, knowing what happened the last time an interviewer tried to find out what he looked like. "I really wouldn't count on seeing him. People don't call him mysterious for no reason."  
"I know, but it's super cool! And imagine how cool it would be for people to see him! If he isn't here, I'll just interview people about him! That would be cool!" With that, Jason ran off, asking various members about the Salamander.  
'At least Natsu isn't here this time,' Mira thought, shuddering. It took Master holding him down, and both Erza and Mira pleading for him to stop before he let the reporter go. In fairness, the reporter shouldn't have tried to take his cloak off, but Natsu flipped his lid. Guess his threat worked, because Natsu's outburst was never published. 'Especially since Jason stopped by unannounced, who knows if Natsu would've noticed in time.'  
"Mira! You know him?" Lucy asked excitedly when the barmaid returned.  
"Yeah, I've gone to a few photoshoots while he was there, and he does most of the articles for Sorcerer Weekly," Mira explained.  
"Do you think you could get me an interview? Please? It's always been my dream to be in Sorcerer Weekly!" Lucy begged.  
"Well, it looks like he's more interested in Natsu at the moment," Mira giggled. "Don't say anything about his dragons, or go into too much depth of what he looks like, and I'll see about getting you an interview. Got it?"  
"Thank you so much, Mira!" Lucy squealed.  
Meanwhile, Jason had gone around asking every member for information about the Salamander, and nearly all of them had pointed to Erza, Mira, and Happy. Of course, he couldn't leave without getting some information down about the rest of the 'super cool' mages, so he got some information about Gray, Elfman, Loke, and Makarov during his rounds. Eventually, he went back up to the bar where the group in question was waiting.  
"Hi, my name's Lucy-"  
"So, I hear you three are prime sources for information about Salamander! Where is he right now? He's so cool!" Jason gushed, ignoring the blonde.  
"He's not here currently," Erza said. "He should be back tomorrow or the next day at the latest."  
"That's so cool, Titania! Why does Salamander hide his face? It looks so cool!"  
"He doesn't want people to know what he looks like," Mira told him.  
"Cool! Mirajane's answers are always so cool! What does the Salamander look like? Does he look cool?"  
"I don't think he would want us to tell you what he looks like," Happy told the reporter.  
"Happy! So cool! I've always wanted to meet the Salamander's companion! Can you tell me anything else about the Salamander? That would be super cool! And I would totally owe you a favor, which would be even cooler!" Jason exclaimed, smiling and rapidly writing down the answers.  
Lucy beckoned Mira over and whispered to her, "Can I tell him something? I promise I'll be super vague! I really want an interview!"  
"Fine! But if Natsu gets mad, I'm not helping you!" Mira whispered back. Lucy seemed to consider this for a moment, but overall her desire for an interview won out.  
"I can tell you something!" Lucy told him, smiling.  
"Cool! What's your name and what can you tell me about the Dual Salamander?"  
"My name's Lucy, and I just joined Fairy Tail earlier this week. I can tell you that Salamander has three scars and loves collecting trophies from his jobs!"  
"That's so cool! That's gotta be the coolest thing ever! Thank you so much, Lucy!" Jason, while always energetic, looked like he was about to explode with energy.  
"Do you think I could-"  
"Thank you so much! You guys were all super cool! I'll see you for the photoshoot next month Mirajane! They're always so cool!" With his newfound information, Jason sprinted out the door.  
'Maybe he heard what happened to the last reporter that came in for Salamander information…' Erza thought to herself.  
"Aw, come on! I really wanted an interview!" Lucy whined, sulking.  
"Don't worry, Lucy! I'm sure they'll give you one eventually!" Mira piped up.  
"While I am exceedingly disappointed you bargained our friend's privacy for your personal gain," Erza said, glaring at the now terrified Lucy. "At least you told him something that wouldn't give him away. Besides, Natsu has way more than three scars anyway…" Erza added the last part quietly.  
"What was that Erza?" Mira asked with a sickly sweet smile on her face.  
"Nothing! Nothing at all! I have to go on a mission! Good day!" Erza shot out of her seat and hurried over to the mission board to find something quick to pass the time with, ignoring the giggling Mira and confused Lucy.  
"What was that about?" Lucy asked.  
"Oh, nothing!" Mira replied, smiling.  
'Why is everyone in this guild insane?' Lucy thought to herself.  
"I don't see what's so exciting about that ash-prick coming back anyway!" a voice from the upper level boomed. "Who cares about him? It's his fault we lost Kael!"  
"That's not true and you know it Laxus!" Erza shouted.  
"Oh, my mistake. I forgot that you can't fault your boyfriend for anything that he did," Laxus sneered.  
"You're just jealous that he's stronger than you!" Mira told him. "That's why you didn't come to see the duel with the rest of us! Because you don't want proof that he could beat you with one hand behind his back!"  
"That dragon punk couldn't beat my pinky finger!" Laxus roared. "No wonder his dragons died! They must've been pathetic to raise a wimp like Natsu!"  
"You wanna prove it, Laxus?" Gray yelled, glaring at Laxus. "Get down here and fight me!"  
"Why don't you come up here, pipsqueak! If you're still scared of that red-haired bimbo you don't stand a chance in hell against me!"  
"You'll regret that, power outlet!" Gray taunted, starting to sprint up the stairs.  
"ENOUGH!" Master roared, slapping Gray off the stairs. "Laxus! Stop antagonizing the other guild members! You know very well that Kael's death was not Natsu's fault! And Gray! You are not allowed on the second floor!"  
Laxus just sneered at his grandfather and walked away, while Gray muttered to himself and returned to his table.  
"Why can't Gray go to the second floor?" Lucy asked.  
"Only S-Class mages are allowed up there," Mira explained. "That's where we put the S-Class missions."  
"S...S-Class missions are really that dangerous?" Lucy stuttered nervously.  
"There are several tiers of missions. There are normal missions, which anyone can go on, A-Class missions, which require a team of regular mages or an S-Class wizard to go on, and S-Class missions, which require an S-Class wizard. S-Class missions are divided into three tiers as well, S-Class quests, SS-Class quests, and SSS-Class quests which are sometimes called decade quests. These missions are extremely dangerous, one wrong move and you could end up dead," Mira continued. "We currently only have five S-Class members, which includes Erza, myself, Laxus, Natsu, and Gildarts. Kael used to be one too, but he passed away a year ago while on an SSS-Class mission with Natsu. Since S-Class missions are so dangerous, they're posted on the second floor, and only S-Class wizards can go up there."  
"Who's Gildarts?" Lucy asked.  
"Gildarts is our current ace, however, given that display, I would say Natsu is way stronger," Mira explained. "He's currently on a special mission that isn't even on a tier, and it's been nicknamed the Century Quest because no one has been able to complete it in over a hundred years. No one's even come back alive…"  
"One-one hundred years?" Lucy squeaked.  
"Don't get any ideas, Lucy," Erza said, handing a mission over to Mira for a stamp. "S-Class missions are extremely dangerous, and if you aren't ready you may not come back alive."  
"I wasn't!" Lucy exclaimed.  
'Tch...Laxus...Where does he get off thinking he's so good? And why is everyone so obsessed with Natsu?! Salamander this and Salamander that...I could do an S-Class mission...If I just had someone to go with me…' One of the members was deep in thought, formulating a plan to prove himself.  
Aside from that, the day passed fairly uneventfully; Erza had left to go on a short job during the afternoon and arrived back at Fairy Hills that night, Lucy spent the day with Mira and Levi just talking, and the rest of the guild spent the day as normal, with an average of 1.3 brawls per hour. That night, Lucy had just arrived home when she heard a voice coming from her room.  
"Wow, this is a nice place. No wonder Natsu got it for her," the voice said.  
"INTRUDER!" Lucy screamed, preparing her key and kicking the figure that was in her bedroom in the back of the head. "Open! Gate of-"  
"Relax! It's just me Lucy! Calm down!"  
"Gray? WHY ARE YOU IN MY HOUSE? AND WHERE ARE YOUR CLOTHES?" she shouted.  
"Don't get the wrong idea or anything," Gray casually explained, rubbing his head, and standing up. "I was like this when I got in here."  
"How does that help?" Lucy groaned.  
"That's not important. Listen, how would you like to go on an S-Class mission?"  
"What? Why on earth would I do that? Mira said-"  
"It's on a fancy island," Gray said, trying to convince her.  
"So? Mira and Erza told me-"  
"And the reward includes a golden zodiac key, too. If you don't want it, I can just sell-"  
"What are you waiting for? Let's go!" Lucy exclaimed, instantly on board with his plan.  
'That was just as easy as I thought it'd be,' Gray thought to himself, smirking and following Lucy out the door. 'I really lucked out with the reward.'  
"But first…" Lucy sighed, shaking her head. "PUT SOME DAMN CLOTHES ON!"  
"Right…"

*Bahamut (pronounced Ba-ha-moot) - Dragon-like monster in Arabic lore, Dragon god in DnD, and some sort of dragon-esque creature in Final Fantasy. In this story, Bahamut is the 'dragon god'. Instead of saying 'Oh my god' 'Good lord' or 'Sweet Mavis' the dragons and dragon slayers say Bahamut


	16. The Sixteenth

[The Next Morning - ERA]

“Alright, Mr. Drakeneel, you are free to go.”  
“Thank you for your hospitality,” Natsu responded sarcastically.  
“Right…” The guard deadpanned.  
Natsu was currently pondering the request Ultear had given to him. ‘Is that really possible? I didn’t even know that spell had anything to do with dragons, how could she have found out? I always knew she had contacts, but this is almost unbelievable…’

[Ultear’s Backstory]

Twenty years ago, on the Northern continent known as Glaiterra, a girl was born to a young woman named Ur. The woman’s husband had died shortly after Ur had gotten pregnant, but now she had a new light in her life. The woman had beautiful dark hair that ran down to her shoulders and always wore a brilliant smile. From her immense happiness of having her daughter, she wept tears of joy and decided to name the child after her tears. Ultear, the tears of Ur.  
The little girl, Ultear, and her mother grew up rather poor, but the two were very happy together. Ultear was a happy child, and always had a smile on her face. The two of them spent time playing in the snow, singing songs in front of their fireplace, and listening to Ur tell stories of the adventures she’d had as well as stories about Ultear’s father. It was a simple existence, but they loved it.  
Unfortunately, underneath all that joy and laughter, was an immense amount of worry. Ultear was a sickly child and was constantly ill, and eventually, Ur realized the reason for this was the monumental amount of magical power contained within the child. Worried that leaving the problem to sort itself out would kill the light of her life, Ur went to the Bureau of Magic Development who claimed they had the ability to cure her daughter. For a while, they would go once a month to run tests, and each time, Ur got more and more worried. At the age of 7, two years after the tests started, they claimed to have found a permanent solution.  
Ultear stayed behind in that place for her treatment, but unbeknownst to her, they never intended to treat the child in the first place. She was experimented on for her immense magic power reserves and went through extensive pain as she was used as a toy for their curiosity.  
A few days after dropping her daughter off, Ur returned only to receive news that her daughter had died. She was rightfully devastated, bawling, and screaming that they were lying to her, but they insisted that it was true. It took nearly two hours, but they finally convinced Ur to go home, where she spent weeks mourning her lost daughter.  
Unbeknownst to her, she had been right. Her daughter had never died, and was currently miserable and missing her mother. She stayed in that place for months, and after a while, Ultear began having trouble keeping track of time. Sick of the endless torment, she broke out of her prison, determined to reunite herself with her mother. Unfortunately, when she found her mother, she was smiling and enjoying a day in the snow with two young boys. Ultear was certain that her mother had abandoned her for better children, so she returned to the prison she escaped from and submitted herself to their whim, set to gain enough power to seek vengeance on her mother. Eventually, she had enough, and destroyed the place, killing many of the people that had experimented on her in the process, and she left, ready to get revenge on the woman who ruined her life.  
Shortly after, she met up with a man named Hades. He saw the trouble in the girl’s life, the pain and the anger she felt, and decided to take her under his wing. Hades began to teach Ultear a special form of Lost Magic known as Arc of Time, and she eventually became quite adept. She had stayed under Hades ever since, but within the past few years, Ultear met two more people that began to change her. One of whom was a young man with strange hair, and the other was an even younger girl she met who had no home to call her own.

[Backstory End]

“Ah, Salamander! I heard that you were offered a potential trial for the Ten Wizard Saints!” The man interrupting Natsu’s thoughts was Jura Neekis, currently, the Tenth Wizard Saint and the one most recently appointed.  
“Indeed. You are Jura? Correct?” Natsu replied, shaking the man’s hand. He was tall, nearly dwarfing Natsu, and extremely muscular. He had on somewhat of a formal robe and was completely bald, with short black eyebrows and the face of a pronounced warrior.  
“Ah, so you’ve heard of me! Well, I look forward to your trials, Salamander! Be sure to prepare, they are by no means easy! Though I’m sure any child of Makarov will do brilliantly.”  
“Thank you, Jura. It is truly an honor to receive praise from someone such as yourself.” Jura smiled and nodded his head before the two separated and Natsu returned to his thoughts. Natsu realized that he would once again have to take a journey on Hell’s only son to get back before Erza and Mira had a heart attack, so he headed off for the train station. ‘It’d be nice to try to get there early and surprise them.’ Natsu thought to himself.  
He had been released rather early, around 6:30 am, and the guild didn’t really open up until 8. If he took the train now, he would arrive around a half-hour after the guild opened for the day, so he boarded and braced himself for the journey to come. Just shy of two long hours later, he awakened and dragged himself out of the car, pausing for a moment to relish in the great freedom the ground had gifted him with.  
After recovering, he hopped up and headed back towards Fairy Tail, excited about his new job. ‘I’ll probably have to bring the two of them along so they aren’t upset,’ Natsu thought as he approached the guild. ‘That’s ok, I’ll need backup anyway. Besides, it’ll be nice to spend time with the two of them.’  
Natsu opened the guild doors and removed his cloak, only to find himself staggering from a bullet tackle from a flying feline.  
“NATSHUUUU!” Happy cried, burying his face in the dragon slayer’s chest. “I thought you were gonna be away forever!”  
“Oh come on, Happy!” Natsu patted the feline’s head reassuringly. “You know they couldn’t do that!”  
“Natsu!” This time it was Mira, who, while not tackling the fire mage, definitely had a powerful running hug.  
“Jane! Good to see you again! What’d I tell you? It was just a demonstration of the council’s power, they didn’t even bother to put me in magic canceling cuffs.”  
“That doesn’t mean I was any less worried about you,” Mira said from inside his shoulder. She released him after a moment and gave him a smile. “Well, come on. Let’s have some breakfast!”  
Natsu nodded and followed after the barmaid. The guild was still relatively empty, the only notable mages present were the other two Strauss siblings, Makarov, and Nab, who all greeted his safe return. Natsu sat down at the bar and briefly chatted with Happy while Mira went to prepare breakfast. Shortly after, she came out with three platters of food and gestured for Natsu to follow her, and the two walked over and sat down at a table. The first two platters were for the two mages, and the third was just a pile of fish for Happy.  
“Thanks, Jane! One thing I definitely missed was your cooking.”  
Mira blushed slightly and smiled. “So, Natsu, how was prison?”  
“It was hardly prison,” Natsu defended, and Mira giggled. “It wasn’t too interesting, however, I do have news for both you and Erza when she gets in. She didn’t go on a job, did she?”  
“Oh, what do you need with ginger-head…” Mira grumped, frowning slightly.  
“Don’t be like that, Jane,” Natsu sighed. “I missed the two of you, a lot. I got a job I was hoping you two could help me with and we can spend some time together.”  
“What job…” Mira asked, frowning. Initially, Mira had been rather giddy that he had missed her so much, but at the mention of a job, she was not pleased. She knew he hadn’t gotten it at the guildhall, so that meant one thing.  
“It’s not what you think, Jane,” Natsu said, and gestured for her to lean closer. “The White Crown is dead...I left him behind…Besides, you really think I’d take anyone with me on those? I’d never put you two in danger like that.”  
“Really?” Mira asked hopefully after the two had leaned back. Natsu smiled and nodded. “So, wait, if it isn’t that, what kind of job?”  
“A special request. If you don’t mind, I’d like to wait for Erza to get here as well so I can tell the both of you together, but we’d have to leave today if that’s alright with you.”  
“Today?” Mira whined. “I can’t go today! Can we please go tomorrow?”  
Natsu immediately felt guilty. ‘Dammit! She’s using puppy-dog eyes...My only weakness…’ Happy started giggling at the two, while Natsu sighed and scratched the back of his head. “It’s very time-sensitive, Jane. Aw, come on! Don’t give me the eyes! I can’t do anything about it!”  
Mira giggled at him and smiled slightly. “You’re too easy, Natsu! But if you go on a mission with Erza, you owe me a mission too!”  
“I’d love to,” Natsu smiled. “Do you want to pick it, or should Happy?”  
“No, Natsu,” Mira said, wagging her finger in front of him. “Just you. Me and you, Happy’s not coming.”  
“WAAH! MIRA’S A MEANIE!” Happy cried from his fish.  
“I’ll give you fish for a week,” Mira told him.  
“Aye, sir! Have fun on your mission!”  
Natsu chuckled and shook his head. “I should’ve known you’d have a plan. Alright, anything you’d like. Just keep an eye out and we’ll go. Sound good?”  
“Yay!” Mira squealed. “So what’s your special mission request?”  
“Well, you’ll just have to wait and see. I already have my trophy all picked out.”  
“Aww, Natsu! You’re no fun at all!” The group continued their breakfast chatting about various things. When they were finished, Mira took their dishes and left to go do some guild business, while Natsu and Happy went over to chat with Lisanna, who was excited to have some time with her pseudo big brother again. Soon after, Erza returned to the guild.  
“Ah, Erza! You’re back!” Natsu called, excusing himself from his conversation with Lisanna.  
“Natsu!” Erza smiled and walked over to the dragon slayer, giving him one of her famous forehead breaking breastplate hugs. “Good to see you’re back safely.”  
“Good to see you still haven’t learned to hug properly,” Natsu joked, and Erza returned it with a smile after releasing him.  
“Anyway, I actually have a bit of important news to share with you.”  
“Oh? And what is that?” Erza asked. ‘Ha! Take that, demon wench!’ she thought to herself.  
As if reading her mind, Natsu smirked. “Don’t get too excited, I asked Mira as well, but she’s busy today.”  
“Wh-what I-I wasn’t-” Erza stuttered.  
“Of course you weren’t,” Natsu rolled his eyes and grabbed her arm leading her to a table. “Now come on.”  
The two sat down, and Natsu began to tell her about the job request.  
“So, while I was at the council I received a job request from an old friend.” Once again, Natsu gestured for Erza to lean closer so he could whisper. “Not what you’re thinking, I killed off The White Crown...He’s not a part of me anymore.”  
Erza smiled at his final success of trying to break off a piece of his past but was a bit confused at what the job was. If he didn’t get it from the council, and it wasn’t a bounty hunt, what did they want with him? “So, if it’s not that, what did they want you to do?”  
“It’s not they, it was a personal request. Anyway, I was approached-”  
“AHHHH!! MASTER!” Mira screamed from upstairs.  
“What is it child, why are you shouting?” Makarov asked with a concerned look on his face as Mira came running towards the railing of the second floor.  
“It’s one of the S-Class requests! It’s missing!”  
“IT’S WHAT!” Makarov shouted in shock. “DID SOMEONE TAKE IT?”  
“I know what happened to it,” Laxus added gruffly. “That ice prick took it last night after everyone left.”  
“Laxus! Why didn’t you try to stop him?!” Mira demanded.  
“Relax, barmaid,” Laxus sneered, earning a low growl from Natsu which he either ignored or didn’t notice at all. “I didn’t know at the time. I just saw him walking down the stairs. Never dreamed the idiot would actually take an S-Class quest.”  
Makarov sighed and rubbed his face with his hand. ‘That grandson of mine…’ He shook off his displeasure to focus on the matter at hand. “Which one was it, Mira?”  
“The Curse of the Demon Island!”  
Before Makarov even had a chance to reply, Natsu shot up and roared, “WHAT?! DID YOU SAY DEMON ISLAND?”  
Mira was rather surprised, and Makarov looked even more so, before she replied. “Uh, yeah. Why?”  
“That’s Galuna Island! OH FUCK, THIS IS BAD!” This caught them even more off-guard. Natsu wasn’t the swearing type by any means. Occasionally he’d get a little rough on the tongue when he was taunting his enemies, but something of this level was rare.  
“Calm down, Natsu. What’s wrong?” Erza asked, placing a hand on the dragon slayer’s shoulder.  
“Erza! We’re leaving, now! Master! I’ll go get them! I really don’t have any time to explain! All I know is they are both in A LOT of danger!” With that, Natsu picked Erza up bridal style before she could even react and sprinted out of the guild.  
“Wait, brat! What do you mean by that!” Makarov shouted after them. “I hope they’ll be ok…”  
“Don’t worry Master, it’s Natsu! If anyone can help them, it’s him,” Mira assured the old man.  
‘I sure hope so,’ the master thought to himself.  
Natsu was currently sprinting towards the train station with a struggling and blushing Fairy Queen in his arms, ignorant to the fact that not only was he receiving a lot of strange looks from the people in Magnolia, and to the fact that he didn’t remember to bring his cloak in his rush. Happy was flying a distance behind them trying to catch up, but luckily for Natsu, the cat noticed the lack of Natsu’s familiar garb and had brought the cloak with him.  
“Natsu! Put me down! What are you doing?” Erza sputtered out, madly blushing and squirming around.  
“I’m sorry, Erza! I’ll make it up to you later, we really don’t have a lot of time right now!”  
“What does that mean? Natsu!”  
The two arrived at the train station shortly after, Natsu donned his cloak after putting Erza down, thanking Happy profusely, and sprinted off to buy tickets.  
Happy, meanwhile, was on the ground laughing at the extremely embarrassed Titania, who was currently trying to return her face back to a normal color, rather than what it had been previously. After a moment, she recovered enough to attempt to strangle the cat, but Natsu returned in time to save his partner, dragging the two on the nearest train to Hargeon just before it pulled out of the station. For Erza, that meant she had no way to get answers until they arrived, as he was immediately motion-sick. Fortunately for Erza, however, not that she would ever admit it out loud, Natsu was unconscious, meaning she could lay him in her lap and relax for a bit as they rode the train. Soon after Natsu was out, Erza took a shot in the dark to see if he had mentioned anything regarding why they were in such an extreme rush to Happy.  
“Do you have any idea what that was all about?”  
“Which part? The part where he carried you? It’s because he liiiiiikes you,” Happy taunted, giggling at the returning blush of the Fairy Queen.  
“No, not that you idiot! Why he was in such a rush! I understand wanting to help Gray, but why did he seem so worried about Galuna Island? And what about that job he mentioned?”  
“I have no idea,” Happy answered, recovering from his chuckle fit. “He wanted both you and Mira to go with him, but he was waiting for you to get back before spilling. Mira couldn’t go so she made him promise to go on a mission with just the two of them when you two got back.”  
“She. Did. What?” Erza seethed. ‘Scheming demon wench!’ she thought.  
“Yep! She said, ‘Oh, Natsu! My dearest love! Let us go far from here and spend the day together!’” Happy dramatically recalled, telling the knight of all the ‘kissy-kissy’ activities the two had planned.  
Erza, no doubt due to her rather interesting preference in literature, was immediately lost in her imagination. Seeing the terribly lewd acts the two of them would be up to, alone in the forest, the two of them slowly- ‘NO! I shall not allow such-such-such INDECENT actions to befall my Nat-I mean Natsu!’ Eventually, Happy couldn’t take it anymore, collapsing on the floor in a fit of laughter. Somehow, that didn’t give the joke away to Erza, who was still swimming around in her wild imagination.  
They rode in relative silence after that, as the train approached Hargeon. It wasn’t too long of a ride before the group arrived, and Erza dragged Natsu out after awakening the sleeping dragon.  
“Now, would you like to tell me what this is all about?” Erza asked, as Natsu finally regained some sense of his being.  
“I will, just let’s get on the boat first. They said they’d have one waiting for me with a crew that had an anti-motion sickness lacrima in it, so we can talk there.”  
“Fine, Natsu. Just hurry.”  
Natsu smiled and raced off, followed closely by Erza and Happy. Waiting for them was a mid-sized ship with a small crew. Natsu quickly boarded and introduced himself.  
“Hello, I’m Salamander and these are my associates Erza and Happy. We’re on a job from Ultear who said this ship would be waiting for us.”  
“Of course! Head below deck and we’ll set sail!”  
“Thanks,” Natsu replied, leading the two downstairs.  
“So, will you finally tell me what this is all about?” Erza pressed.  
“Of course. It started yesterday while I was enjoying my night in one of the council’s prison cells…”

[Flashback - The Previous Day]

"Ultear," Natsu said smiling. "It really has been a while. You didn't happen to miss me, did you?"  
“I do wonder about that,” Ultear smirked slightly. “It has been a while hasn’t it?”  
“Now, Ulty, as much as I love seeing you, did you need something or did you just come to see me?”  
“Right to business today? Come now, Natsu, you could humor me at least a little bit for old times’ sake…”  
“Oh, and I would, however, I’m a bit locked up at the moment…”  
“Well that should give you more free time, don’t you think?”  
“Come on, Ulty...I know you want something, just spit it out,” Natsu sighed.  
“Oh, you’re no fun at all, Natsu! Fine...I actually have a job for you,” Ultear pouted slightly.  
"Oh? And what sort of job do you think would fit me? If you're asking what I think you're going to, my answer is no. The White Crown is dead, his last job was in Hargeon…"  
"While that is interesting to hear, I actually need something else from you. And I think you'll agree quite hastily when I explain…"  
"Well? What is it?"  
Ultear smiled slightly, giving the dragon slayer a devious smirk.  
“Well? Spit it out, you know very well I hate that look…” Natsu replied, glaring slightly at the council member.  
“Oh, my! Gotten feisty have you? Very well then. I need you to break a seal for me.”  
“What? You’re going to have to be way more specific than that, Ulty.”  
“On the island of Galuna, there is currently a group attempting to melt the ice from a demon named Deliora.”  
Natsu’s eyes grew wide. “You don’t mean...Zeref’s Deliora? One of the ultimate demons of destruction?”  
“Your intellect never ceases to amaze me, Natsu, the very same. A long time ago a very special wizard cast a very powerful spell called Iced Shell to seal the demon within unmeltable ice.”  
“Forget it, I’m not unsealing one of Zeref’s demons. Are you out of your mind? I knew you were twisted, but you’re not evil! Besides, I thought you said another group was already doing that. When I get out of here, I’m gonna stop them from unsealing it, not speed the process up!”  
“Oh dear, perhaps I should explain myself better. You see, Iced Shell was originally a spell created by the Ice Dragon Queen Glacia over a thousand years ago. It was used as a countermeasure against other forms of dragon royalty.”  
“And how did you stumble upon that information? Even I didn’t know that, and you know very well where my magic comes from…”  
Ultear giggled and smiled. “Now why would I reveal my sources to you? Anyway, that’s not quite everything. You see, Iced Shell imprisons their target in a nearly unbreakable block of solid ice. It is quite ingenious, wouldn’t you say?”  
“If it’s unbreakable, how am I supposed to help anyway? Not that I plan to…”  
“There are only two ways to break the spell Iced shell. One is using Moon Drip, which slowly but surely melts away the ice. However, this is a rather unfortunate process, as it drains the life force of the person who cast the spell. You see, when humans use the spell, we are simply not strong enough as a species, therefore we exchange our very bodies as a vessel for the ice.”  
“So the wizard who cast the spell is the seal on Deliora?” Natsu asked, shocked.  
“Indeed!”  
“So how does this involve me?”  
“I did say there was a second way to break the seal, didn’t I?”  
“And am I to guess that’s where I come in?”  
“Exactly. The only other way to break Iced Shell is with the magic of a fire dragon king, and it just so happens, you have the stronger branch of fire dragon king magic. Should you be so inclined to cast a special unsealing spell I can give to you, you could free both the caster and the creature. Isn’t that fascinating?”  
“I find it hard to believe that everything you’ve told me is true, and if it is, I find it harder to believe that you didn’t even attempt to trick me.”  
“Oh, now why would I want to trick such a special friend of mine?”  
“Are you trying to charm your way into this, Ulty? I’m afraid that’s rather unlikely…”  
“Is that any way to respond to a friend offering you a job?” Ultear pouted.  
“Well, I have two questions. What would you be paying me for this, and why should I do it?”  
“Well, why you should do it is rather simple. The wizard who cast Iced Shell is an almost legendary ice wizard from the North by the name of Ur. She just so happens to be the teacher of your guildmate, Gray.”  
“You think I’d free that creature...just because Gray’s master is the seal? I think he’d be angry at me if I took you up on that offer, Ulty. You’ll have to use a bit more persuasion.”  
“She also happens to be my mother.”  
“Ultear…you’re not still planning on-”  
“No...I thought about...what you told me,” Ultear admitted. “I just...I just want to see her again...for my own sake and to ask her myself.”  
Natsu smiled at her. “Then you may consider the job taken.”  
Ultear teared up slightly and smiled back. “If it weren’t for these damn prison bars I’d give you a hug right now.”  
Natsu chuckled and waved her off. “The darkness is not meant for any of us, Ultear. I just hope when this is all over, you can consider joining me in the light. Should you find yourself in need of a hand, you know where to find me."

[Flashback End]

“So...you’re telling me that right now on Galuna Island, there is a group attempting to UNSEAL one of the STRONGEST DEMONS FROM THE BOOK OF ZEREF?” Erza shouted, eyes wide.  
“Yes! That is exactly why I was in such a rush!” Natsu replied, putting a hand on her shoulder to try and calm her down. “Now relax, we should be there in time. They just left recently, and we have no way of knowing when exactly the moon drip will fully unseal Deliora.”  
“And Iced Shell is Gray’s master Ur? Why didn’t he mention that?!”  
“I’m sure he had his reasons, Erza,” Natsu told her, trying to soothe the irate knight. “If she sacrificed herself to seal the demon away, it probably hit him pretty hard. We both know all about what it feels like for someone to sacrifice their life for you in front of your very eyes…”  
“Natsu…”  
“One day, Erza...The chains that shackle you will be broken, and if not by your hands, it will be by mine.”  
“Natsu…”  
The two rode together, sitting in companionable silence, Erza resting her head comfortably on Natsu’s shoulder. By this point it was starting to become late evening, and considering they had taken a train all the way to Hargeon, fought their way to the docks, waited for a while until the crew was ready to leave, and now the two were sailing to an island, the time passed quite quickly. Erza had started to doze off slightly when she suddenly broke the silence with a quiet whisper.  
“Hey, Natsu?”  
“What is it, Erza?”  
“Who’s Ultear?” Natsu just chuckled and told her it was a story for another time, before Erza settled into a quiet sleep, comforted by the fire mage’s warmth.


	17. The Seventeenth

[Earlier That Day With Lucy and Gray]

"I'm really starting to have second thoughts about this, Gray...Are you sure we should've taken this job?" Lucy asked, nervously. The two of them had already asked five different people about getting a ride to Galuna Island and all of them were too terrified to go anywhere near the island.  
"Lighten up, Lucy," Gray replied, dismissing her concern. "Think of how impressed everyone will be when we come back successfully! You'll have a new gate key, prove that Natsu made the right call in bringing you, and who knows? Maybe I'll even get promoted to S-Class!"  
"And if we can't complete the mission?"  
"..."  
"..."  
"..."  
"GRAY?!"  
"Well, just don't think about it too much."  
"I knew I shouldn't have come…"  
It was on their sixth attempt that lady luck seemed to finally be on their side, as they spotted a lone fisherman on a dock near his boat. The man had relatively dark skin, a black mustache, a black cap, and wore a green cloak over his body.  
"Excuse me, sir," Gray asked. "Would you be able to take us to Galuna Island?"  
"Eh? Why would you wanna go there? That there's a cursed place, they call it Demon Island. You won't find anyone crazy enough to go there around these parts," the man replied.  
"Gray, that's it. Let's just get back to Fairy Tail…"  
"Wait, did you say Fairy Tail?" the fisherman questioned, suddenly very interested.  
"Yeah, why? Did you-"  
"So you're mages?" he asked again, hopefully.  
"You bet we're mages!" Gray responded confidently. "I'm gonna freeze that damn curse!"  
"That's not how curses work, Gray…" Lucy deadpanned.  
"Get on."  
"Eh?" Lucy questioned, bewildered by his sudden change.  
"Hurry up!"  
"Come on, Lucy! He's gonna take us!" Gray said, dragging the blonde into the boat.  
The group was now on board the small boat and beginning to set sail for the island.  
"So, um, Mr.-" Lucy started.  
"My name's Bobo," the fisherman replied.  
"Right, Bobo. How come you decided to take us? I thought you said everyone was too scared to go on that island."  
Bobo sighed and scratched his head nervously. "The truth is, I'm from Galuna Island. Look at this." He pulled back his cloak unveiling his left arm. The appendage looked like that of a demon, purple and scaled with talons on his hands.  
"I-is that th-th-the curse?" Lucy stuttered out.  
"Not really," Bobo explained. "When you get there, you can't tell them anything about what I'm about to tell you. It could be dangerous."  
"Just spit it out, old man. How are we supposed to help them if you don't give us any information?" Gray pressed.  
"Yeah...I'm not sure exactly what's causing it, but the curse itself is misleading. There is no curse that turns us into demons, everyone who lives on that island is already a demon."  
"Th-th-they're all d-d-d-demons?" asked Lucy, nervously.  
Bobo nodded and continued his explanation. "Don't be too afraid, young lady. They're just like me, but there is a problem. I don't know what happened, but they all think that they're humans who've been turned into demons. I remembered that I was a demon all along and that we all were, but when I tried to convince them, but they wouldn't listen. The chief, who's my own father, made the decision to have me executed. I was fortunate enough to escape before that happened though... Something happened to their minds, but I'm afraid that's all I can tell you."  
"Hold on, how do you just forget that you're a demon?" Gray questioned. "That doesn't make any sense."  
"I'm afraid that's all I know. The rest is up to you…"  
"Well, great-"  
(Rumble)  
"I'm not sure-"  
(RUMBLE)  
"How exactly-"  
(RUMBLE RUMBLE)  
"What is that- SWEET MAVIS!"  
"AAHHHHHH!" Lucy screamed.  
Approaching the boat was a massive wave, not big enough to be a tsunami, but far too large to not swallow the boat whole.  
"BOBO! GET US-WHERE'D BOBO GO?" Lucy shouted again.  
"HE'S GONE?!" Gray questioned loudly.  
"I DON'T WANNA DIE YET!" Lucy cried.  
SPLOOSH CRASH  
The wave crashed into the boat, smashing it to pieces and dragging the two underwater. They struggled against the waves for a while, occasionally managing to get up for air when eventually, they were smashed into something that felt a lot like…  
'Ground?' Lucy thought. "I'm alive? I'm alive! Gray! I lived!"  
"Sprrk frgh yrsrf, brndr," Gray replied, his head buried in a pile of sand.  
"Come again?" Lucy sweatdropped.  
Gray got his head out and spit out the sand from his mouth. "I said speak for yourself, blondie! What the hell was that? And what happened to Bobo? How could he just disappear like that?"  
"How should I know? This whole mission was your idea! Don't forget that!" Lucy snapped back. "And how is it that the one instance where it would make sense for your shirt to have disappeared, IT'S STILL ON?"  
"Tch...whatever...It looks like we're here, why don't we meet up with the client."  
"Fine…" So the two washed up mages shook off their damage, and began walking through the jungle. Was it magic? Was it plot convenience? Who knows, but this special island named for the moon did in fact have a jungle, oblivious to the fact that such a climate would not support such an ecosystem…  
A short walk later, and they arrived at a ginormous gate. It was made entirely of large wooden spikes that towered over the mages.  
"Excuse me!" Gray called up.  
"Who goes there?" A guard responded, poking his head over the gate. "And what do you want?"  
"We're from Fairy Tail to help with the curse," Gray replied.  
"Why weren't we notified of this?" another guard questioned, eyeing them suspiciously.  
"It-er- something must have happened with the paperwork," Gray lied. As unconvincing as his lie was, they only seemed mildly suspicious.  
"Show us your guild marks," the first guard told him.  
They complied, Gray lifting his shirt to reveal his guild mark location on his chest and Lucy showing them her hand that had her guild mark on it.  
"They seem real to me," the first guard told the second, who scratched his chin for a moment.  
"I'd say we strip the girl to be certain," he replied.  
"KYAA! PERVERT!" Lucy shrieked, covering herself.  
The first guard smacked the second on the head. "Sorry about that, my partner here is a bit of an idiot. We'll lower the gate and tell the chief of your arrival."  
"Thanks," Gray called back, and the guard waved back.  
Shortly after, the gate lowered, forming somewhat of a drawbridge for the two mages to enter the village. They did and were met with a large crowd of villagers, all wearing near-identical cloaks that covered their bodies.  
"Thank goodness you've come!" a short old man exclaimed. He had extremely long white sideburns and wore a cloth that somewhat resembled a skirt. Around his neck was a necklace with a small skull ornament and various other things that appeared to be teeth or talons of some sort. His back was in a permanent hunch and he sported a very serious expression. "We've been in such desperate need of help!"  
"Not a problem old man," Gray replied.  
"My name's Moka, and I'm the village chief," he explained. "I think we should skip the pleasantries and get straight to the point. Everyone? Remove your cloaks!"  
Following his instructions, the villagers proceeded to remove their respective coverings, showing the Fairy Tail mages a crowd of people, each with a varying demonic piece of them. Some of them had a purple leg, others had a green arm, and more still had part of their face turned into a scaly demonic blue.  
"You see? We have been cursed by the power of the moon! During the day, we are able to stay like this, but when the moon comes out…" Moka explained, as the moon, almost too conveniently demonstrating his point, proceeded to come out from its cloud cover. Peculiarly, the moon itself had a devilish purple glow, and as it shone down upon the villagers, they all proceeded to grip their heads in anguish. Some fell to their knees, and others held their loved ones and whispered reassurances. Soon after, each of them had fully transformed into various demons. They still looked very human-like but were adorned with scales, horns, claws, and talons. Some were purple, some were green, and others were a pale blue.  
"Well," Gray said dryly. "That's not something you see every day."  
"This is not a time for jokes, you idiot!" Lucy snapped.  
"Please young mages," the chief pleaded. "The moon is the cause of this wretched curse that plagues us. It transforms us into demons against our will, and some even lose their minds! I was forced to order the execution of my own son...my poor child...because he lost his mind. I have but one simple request to save my villagers. Please! Destroy the moon!"  
Lucy almost fell over at the statement. 'Destroy the moon? That's not even possible!'  
"Seems easy enough," Gray casually nodded. "But first, I'd like to take a look around. Would you mind allowing us a place to rest for the night?"  
"Thank you, mages! If it gives you the strength to destroy the moon for our humble village, we will gladly allow you to rest here! Please, accompany me this way and I shall show you and your associate to a place."  
Lucy was still giving a stunned expression to Gray but nonetheless followed the two as the chief led them to a spare room. It was small, but would serve them as a place to rest for the night, and had bedrolls and pillows set out for them. Moka thanked the two once again for their assistance and left.  
"Why did you tell them we could destroy the moon?" Lucy questioned exasperatedly. "That's not even possible! And even if it was possible, we couldn't do that!"  
"Yeah, I guess we would miss all those special full moon parties back at Fairy Tail," Gray mused, agreeing with the blonde.  
"WHY IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE CONCERNED ABOUT?"  
"Calm down, obviously we can't destroy the moon," Gray explained, settling down on his bedroll. "I just said that because it's what the chief asked us to do. We're gonna look around and try to figure out what's actually causing this so-called 'curse'."  
"Are you sure we should trust that Bobo guy? I mean, he just vanished out of thin air!"  
"To be honest, I'm not sure. But what I am sure of is that we shouldn't say anything about it to the villagers. We'll get to the bottom of this tomorrow."  
Lucy sighed and settled down on her bedroll, which she made sure was across the room from Gray's. The ice mage was a bit confused but she made it very clear that his 'ineptitude to stay dressed' would not allow them to sleep in such close proximity. Gray of course huffed at her but didn't really care. He was on an S-Class mission with a partner as a backup, and he would finally be able to prove himself to the Master, Natsu, Laxus, and the rest of the guild.  
The two mages were asleep rather quickly and continued to remain so for the rest of the night. Unfortunately, they would be in for a rather terrifying awakening…  
Speaking of which, it was now morning. The light was pouring through the windows of the room as Gray began to slowly awaken.  
"Gray…" a menacing voice said.  
"Oh, great," Gray mused. "A nightmare…"  
"Oh, I assure you it will be," the voice said, yanking him up by his collar. "WHAT ON EARTH WERE YOU THINKING?!"  
"E-E-Erza, uh...hi," Gray stuttered, now fearing for his life.  
"Bad move, iceman," a second voice spoke up. Gray glanced at it, and it turned out to be Natsu, who was currently sitting down next to a very much restrained Lucy. She had been tied to a chair and gagged and was currently being lectured to about various types of exotic fish by Happy.  
"N-Natsu h-h-help m-me! Please!" Gray begged, still being gripped by the irate knight.  
"Hmmm," Natsu mused, standing and approaching the duo. "Erza, would you do me a favor and release our resident ice mage?"  
Gray's face was lit up with what could only be described as pure hope. Maybe he wouldn't die today. However, he should have known that much worse punishment would come from Salamander, especially if it was in place of Erza's. Fortunately, those thoughts were not in his mind, and all he could think about was hoping this beacon of saving light would come through.  
"What are you talking about, Natsu?" Erza demanded. "Gray ran off on an S-Class quest without permission, bringing along a brand new member, and you expect me to let him off without additional punishment?"  
"Of course not, Erza," Natsu placed one hand on her shoulder, slightly calming the raging fairy queen. "However, I will need him restrained while I explain some things to him, and afterward, I need him in one piece. You have my word that I will personally see to it that he shall receive any and all punishment you see fit by any hand you wish to give it to him."  
Gray paled, finally realizing that this was not him being saved, however, his punishment being delayed and perhaps increased.  
Erza glared momentarily, before dropping him on the ground. "Fine...You owe me big time for this, Natsu."  
"Of course, Erza," Natsu smiled, causing a slight blush on the redhead. "As for you, Gray…"  
Still too terrified to really put up much of a struggle, Natsu restrained him with ease and set him next to Lucy, who watched the entire event in terror. What shocked her, even more, was how calm Natsu was and how easily he was able to subdue the redhead.  
"Now, before I begin my part of the lecture," Natsu said, grabbing Happy and sitting across from the now restrained runaways. "I believe Erza has a few...words...for you. Remember Erza, I need them unharmed...For now anyway."  
Erza frowned slightly, but would not be deterred. They had broken rules, and she would see to it they'd be punished regardless of how long she'd have to wait to ensure they would receive it. The next ten minutes or so were quite loud, filled with shouts, threats, and graphic descriptions from Erza on exactly what they did wrong, why it was wrong, how stupid they were, and how exactly she was planning on punishing them. Needless to say, they were quite well terrified.  
"However," Erza finished, breathing deeply and pausing. "That is only part of the reason we're here. Natsu, why don't you explain."  
"Thank you, Erza," Natsu told her, standing. "I appreciate you restraining yourself to such a level." Erza smiled back.  
'THIS WAS RESTRAINT?!' Lucy thought.  
'I'm dead...this is the last day...after this, I die…' Gray wallowed to himself.  
"Now, as Erza mentioned we are here to punish you for being idiots as well as making sure you don't die from a stupid mistake, however that is not the only reason we're here." Natsu removed the gags from both mages, as he would now need some interaction. "Gray, it is very important that you stay relaxed, or I shall punish you as well as Erza. You know I don't enjoy punishing people, but I'm sure you remember what happened last time...Don't you?"  
Gray paled even further. Natsu rarely personally punished anyone, he didn't really need to or want to. The order of the guild was kept by Erza or Mirajane; they were the guild's punishers. Unfortunately, however, one day not too long before Natsu disappeared, someone had made the mistake of knocking the cheesecake that Natsu had specially gotten for Erza on a new dress Mira had gotten from a friend. Needless to say, the guilty party was terrified of the wrath of the two punishers, but quickly realized he had a much bigger threat to deal with. Natsu took the reins on that one, and such a true display of fear has not been seen since. No one ever talked about it, just the thought was enough to make the entire guild shiver.  
"W-wha-what did he d-do?" Lucy trembled.  
"You don't want to know…" Gray muttered, before agreeing to the dragon slayer's demands. Even Erza's spine went slightly cold at the memory.  
"Good. Now, the reason I am here is by special request of a friend. As much as I enjoy an eloquent speech, I will get right to the point. I take it you are very aware of Deliora, correct?"  
"How do you know about that?" Gray demanded, most fear forgotten.  
"Easy, there Gray. I want to hear your story, but first I will answer your question. I am aware that your teacher Ur cast the spell Iced Shell in order to seal away that demon. Is that true?"  
"How do you know that?" Gray demanded.  
"It is my current mission to save her life," Natsu responded flatly.  
Gray's eyes widened and his jaw dropped.  
"Wait, what's Iced Shell?" Lucy asked.  
"That's not possible, Natsu…" Gray replied sadly, ignoring Lucy's question. "I've come to terms with it…"  
"One moment, Lucy," Natsu halted the blonde's questioning. "I want you to tell me everything you know about Deliora as well as what happened with Ur. I understand this is painful for you, I know all too well what it's like having someone you look up to sacrifice themselves in front of you, but this is vitally important."  
Gray took a deep breath and his eyes went to the floor. "Fine…"

[Flashback - Gray's Childhood]

In the Northern continent of Glaiterra, there was a mid-sized town known as Piersk. It was by no means a wealthy area, but it also wasn't too poor. It wasn't a tiny town with only one store and one pub, but it wasn't a massive city with people bursting at the seams. It was perfectly medium, a wonderful place for children to grow up, and a wonderful place for people to live. The shopkeepers were friendly and smiling, there was a park to play in when it wasn't too cold, and everyone seemed to know each other.  
Within this town, there was a couple who had just had a child. Their names were Violet and Silver Fullbuster. The child they had was a young boy, who looked remarkably like his father, and they named him Gray. Gray Fullbuster. Gray was a happy child, running around and playing with the other children, always causing some sort of mischief, but they loved him all the same. They were extremely happy together, and life seemed perfect. Of course, whenever life sees perfection, life will try to take it away...  
That's the way it seemed to him anyway, as when Gray was only seven years old his village was attacked. It wasn't by anything small, no crazed dark guild or slave traders, but a demon. One of the most powerful demons to ever be created, Deliora, the Demon of Destruction, straight out of the Book of Zeref. It slaughtered everyone and destroyed everything around it. No one survived its rampage, whether they were crushed by buildings, vaporized by the demon's magic, or ripped apart by its talons, they all died. Except for the young boy by the name of Gray Fullbuster.  
Just over a day later, a small silver-haired boy and a dark-blue-haired woman came, searching around for survivors. Unfortunately, luck was not on their side, and they scoured the town finding nothing until the silver-haired boy managed to find one.  
"Ur! I think this one's alive!" he called.  
"Get him on the ground; we have to make sure he's not bleeding," the woman answered.  
The two dug him out from the rubble and laid him flat out on the ground. He was, for the most part, unscathed. He had cuts and bruises all around his body, but there didn't seem to be any major lasting damage or broken or disfigured limbs. He was wearing a tattered pair of shorts and a black t-shirt, had black spiky hair, and wore a silver chain around his neck with a cross.  
Waking from his slumber, the boy slowly opened his eyes and sat up, seeing the two people in front of him.  
"Where am I? And who are you?" he asked, rubbing his head before remembering what was going on. "MOM! DAD! WHERE ARE YOU?"  
"Whoah, easy there, kiddo," the woman told him, stopping him from getting up. "You're in no condition to be running around. You got pretty lucky, but that doesn't mean you got out unharmed."  
"Are they...did he…" Gray started, his eyes brimming with tears. Ur could only nod, as the child broke down.  
After a while, Ur managed to console the boy and offered him her assistance. He initially refused it, not wanting anyone else in his life that could be taken from him, until he learned that she could use magic, and was willing to take him on as a student.  
Gray agreed to follow her, deciding then and there he would train under her until he was strong enough to kill Deliora and get revenge on the demon that took everything from him. Her training methods, however, were far more...bizarre...than he had anticipated. As a master of ice-make magic, it was important that the two boys become one with the ice, and so they would go running around in the snow stripped to their underwear every single day. This is exactly where Gray developed his rather unfortunate habit of constantly removing his wardrobe.  
Two years went by like this, Gray practicing hard to learn magic to one day avenge his family. His attitude improved slightly, but he was always cold and distant...difficult to approach and speak to. It was obvious why, as he was terrified of forming a connection with someone only for that connection to be one day taken away from him.  
It was around this time that Gray learned of Deliora's location again. He felt like he was ready, his life's mission was now within reach, and, ignoring the pleas from his master and fellow student that he was crazy and wasn't nearly strong enough, left to seek his revenge.  
He arrived at the city the demon was currently rampaging through and quickly realized what he was truly up against. He was no match for the demon, as it barely even noticed the fact that Gray was attacking it. The ice-make child was quickly subdued by the demon and knocked unconscious by a flying rock that struck him in the temple.  
He awoke sometime later to see his fellow student and teacher in combat against the demon. Much to his protest, they were insistent on fighting the demon, however, even with the legendary ice-make wizard Ur herself, they were no match for such a beast. Lyon was knocked out and landed alongside the injured Gray, while Ur was near exhaustion, and on her last legs.  
"Gray, take Lyon and run," Ur stated calmly.  
"Are you crazy? I can't do that! It's my fault you guys got caught up in this, I should be the one to die so you two can escape!" Gray protested.  
"You know I would never let that happen, Gray," Ur replied and smiled softly at the child. Her student, one of the two lights in her life that came in her time of need, while she was suffering from the loss of her daughter. "I made a promise to you, two years ago, and it is one I intend on keeping."  
Gray's eyes widened, remembering how Ur promised to seal away his darkness, and save him from it. "What are you doing? Just run! Please, you already did! I'll do anything you say, I'll never ignore your lectures again! Just, please! Please don't die for me!" he begged.  
"I'm not going to die Gray, but I don't plan on losing you either," Ur explained, confidently approaching the demon. "I'm going to seal away your darkness, and become its cage, so you can walk free from such a burden."  
"What does that mean? Ur! PLEASE, JUST RUN!" Gray cried.  
"OVER HERE DEMON FREAK!" Ur shouted. "YOU HURT MY STUDENTS, YOU DESTROYED THIS VILLAGE, AND YOU'VE CAUSED ENDLESS SUFFERING TO THIS WORLD! IT'S TIME FOR YOU TO DIE!"  
The demon roared back, almost glaring at the audacity of the mere human to threaten him so.  
Ur entered a stance, with her knees bent at shoulder-width apart. Her arms were extended in front of her, crossed at the wrist, as she began to chant a spell. "Ice holds and ice heals, ice breaks and ice seals, it is with these laws of ice I wield, that ice shall force your king to yield."  
Magic power swirled around the ice-make teacher, her eyes were closed, and the air temperature dropped. The demon could almost sense what was about to happen as it unleashed a roar and took a step back.  
"UR! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? UR!" Gray screamed.  
"Iced SHELL!" she shouted, separating her arms and shooting tendrils of ice at the demon, who immediately began to scream in agony. As the demon began to freeze over in a massive block of ice, Ur's skin slowly began to turn that of ice and crack. "Gray, I have kept my promise to you. I've sealed your darkness away. You can finally move on."  
"UR, PLEASE! DON'T DO THIS! WHAT ABOUT US? WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO WITHOUT YOU?"  
"I'm sure the two of you will do wonderful on your own," Ur replied, a soft smile on her face. "I'd like you to do one last thing for me. Tell him I died. If he were to know the truth, he'd waste his entire life finding a way to break the seal. Can you do that for me, Gray?"  
"I-I can't lose you too…" Gray whispered.  
"You will live on, Gray," Ur said, slowly disappearing and her voice drifting off into the wind. "You will leave your darkness to me, and find your light…"  
With that, she was gone. Where once was a demon of destruction, rampaging an already destroyed town, was now a gigantic prison of ice. A solid block, towering over everything, the creature sealed inside. Gray broke down for the second time in his life, screaming his anguish to the heavens above.  
When his fellow student finally woke up, it was a hard conversation. He blamed Gray for the death of Ur, which Gray agreed with. After all, it was his decision to chase the demon. If he had listened to them, they would all still be here. But it was too late now. Deliora had turned his mistake into the life of his teacher and took away his second family.  
Gray was lost for a time, just in anguish and misery, but eventually, he recalled a conversation he had had with his master about a year into his training. She had told him there were tons of wizards that were stronger than her elsewhere, and all he had to do was look for them. It was with this advice, that Gray made his way to Ishgar and eventually to Magnolia where he ran into and joined Fairy Tail…

[Flashback End]

"Gray…" Lucy said softly.  
"It's never easy, is it?" Natsu replied, kneeling in front of the still tied up Gray. "The easy thing to do is blame yourself and throw everything away, wallowing in what could have been. True strength is overcoming pain, and true happiness comes only from knowing despair. The fact that you are still here means you have won the battle, you have found your strength and your happiness in Fairy Tail. My father always used to tell me, you can't change the past, but you can live on for others who couldn't make it with you to the future."  
"I don't need your speeches, narutomaki-head," Gray scoffed. Natsu chuckled at his creativity and stood back up. "Thank you…" Gray whispered, only audible to the expert hearing of the dragon slayer.  
"Now, back to why I'm here. Deliora is currently on this island, and my mission is to unseal the demon the proper way before a group of cultists can finish doing it their way."

[An Unknown Location In Fiore]

A young woman was sitting comfortably at the table of her small apartment. She had just returned home from her job, where she worked as a waitress in a local restaurant and decided to spend the evening relaxing. For the most part, the woman was alone. She had a few friends, though they were more friendly acquaintances seeing as they never truly did anything together. The days were long and difficult, her nights were occasionally filled with dreams of smoke and fire. It was a painful existence, but the words of someone she used to know she would always hold very dear to her. They gave her the strength to keep moving, to keep living, and so she did. One day, she would find something better to pour herself into, and maybe that day she would be happy again. Sadly, that day had not arrived...or had it?  
She was sitting at the table, having just finished her evening meal, with a cup of tea and a magazine. The magazine was a rather famous and well-known one, and normally it wouldn't interest her, but it was placed in her mailbox by mistake and she figured it was something to do. It was the latest issue of Sorcerer Weekly, and, seeing as she didn't know magic and the very premise of magic brought with it some rather painful memories, it was no wonder that she didn't care so much for the magazine. Regardless, she was reading a few articles while occasionally sipping her tea.  
Feel the roar of the mighty tiger! Sabertooth is known as the strongest guild in Fiore! Finally having surpassed Fairy Tail during the past years' Grand Magic Games, we decided to get an inside scoop on how they're doing! Keep reading for exclusive interviews with some of their finest mages, including the mighty Twin Dragons, Lady Minerva, and so much more!  
'Dragons, huh…' the woman thought, reliving a memory with a sad smile. Brushing a lock of green hair away from her eye, she continued reading, until she eventually stumbled across an article that truly caught her attention.  
The loss of two S-Class mages hit Fairy Tail hard, causing them to lose their place as the number one guild in Fiore, but is that a thing of the past? Rumor has it that the Mysterious Dual Salamander of Fairy Tail had finally returned after his long journey! We sent a reporter over right away to get the inside scoop, straight from the source! Has he truly returned? The rumored king of fire magic and contestant for the strongest mage in Fairy Tail? Read below to find out!

Jason here with the coolest story ever! I went inside to get the coolest exclusive interviews on the return of Fairy Tail's COOLEST member! The Mysterious Dual Salamander! If you missed our last issue on this legendary mage, here's all the information we have on this elusive master of flames!  
The Mysterious Dual Salamander  
Real Name: Unknown  
Height: Approximately six-feet tall  
Weight: Approximately 200lbs  
Magic: White and Orange Fire  
Known Teammates: Happy, Mirajane Strauss, Erza 'Titania' Scarlett, Lisanna Strauss  
In this issue of Sorcerer Weekly, we interviewed some of the Salamander's closest associates and have a few more things to add! Find the interview below!

As the young woman continued to read, several tears appeared in her eyes, a few leaking out to trail slowly down her cheek. 'Two types of fire...A trophy hunter...It...couldn't be him…' she thought to herself. 'How could it? But...that's Happy...he's...he's alive?'  
Now with a steady stream of tears flowing freely from her eyes, though she didn't notice it, she made her decision. 'I...I can hope for this...I can...It's gotta be him, right?' she thought to herself. "I'm gonna do it! I'm going to Fairy Tail!"  
With that declaration, she finally realized that she was a mess of tears, and cleaned herself up. Tonight, she ensured that the magazine that gave her hope would be in excellent condition, so she found some clear kitchen wrap and packaged it. Tomorrow, she would inform the restaurant that she was planning on moving. The next day she would pack her things, and inform her landlord of her departure, paying the final bit of rent. The day after that, she would begin her travels. Not having a clue where Fairy Tail is, nor if she truly would find who she was looking for, she was confident, and so she settled down to bed, finally having a smile on her face that had long since disappeared…


	18. The Eighteenth

[In the tent with Erza, Natsu, Lucy, Gray, and Happy]

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE'S HERE?" Gray demanded. "HOW COULD HE POSSIBLY BE HERE? AND WHAT DO YOU MEAN UNSEALED?"  
"Easy there, Gray, I'm getting to that," Natsu told him. "I don't know who, when, how, or why, but a small group of cultists have moved Deliora to this island and are attempting to unseal the demon."  
"That's insane!" Gray shouted. "What on earth-land would they want with that monster?!"  
"I don't know, but probably something twisted. However, my mission just so happens to be rather similar…"  
"I don't care what you do to me, you're not unsealing Deliora! You'd have to kill me first!"  
"Gray, calm down! I'm unsealing Deliora to bring Ur back to life!"  
Gray stopped struggling against his binds for a moment, remembering what Natsu had said earlier. "I told you before! Ur is the ice, if you break that seal you kill Ur! Besides, even if that would bring her back, you can't melt it. Iced Shell is unbreakable…"  
"That's not true, there are two ways of beating it. Fortunately for you, I happen to be the only one currently alive that has the power to unseal it without killing her."  
Gray scoffed at this and rolled his eyes. "Oh, really? Well, how do you plan on doing that?"  
Natsu explained the origin of Iced Shell, being created by the Ice Dragon Queen Glacia to subdue other royal dragons, and how the reason Ur was used as a vessel was that regular humans don't have enough power to use Iced Shell without sacrificing themselves, no matter how strong they may be. He then told Gray about the cultists, who were currently using Moon Drip to break Deliora's seal, which would both kill Ur and seal the demon.  
"Even if that's all true, flame-brain," Gray retorted, trying to maintain his confident nature even as the information he was receiving was slowly breaking him down. "What does that have to do with you? I won't let you unseal Deliora, and I won't let you kill Ur!"  
"It so happens that the second way to unseal Iced Shell is using a special type of magic known as Fire Dragon King magic. As you may know, I use White Fire Dragon King magic, which is a slightly stronger branch of that same magic, and was given the information on how to cast a spell that will unseal it. Deliora will be revived, meaning we will have to fight and defeat the demon, but Ur will too. Unfortunately, Gray, my mind is made up. I'm unsealing the demon, for reasons we don't really have the time to go into right now, but it would mean a lot to me if you were to help me to un-"  
"I'll do it…" Gray whispered.  
Natsu smiled and freed Gray from his binds. "Thanks."  
"Don't think I'm doing this for you, hothead," Gray retorted.  
"Of course not, tundra tool, now let's get going. Erza? You ready to roll?"  
"Indeed, let us depart!"  
"What about me?" Lucy wailed. "Untie me first!"  
"Oh, Lucy! I forgot you were here, apologies," Natsu replied, surprised at the blonde's 'sudden' appearance.  
"And I thought you were a nice person…" Lucy muttered.  
"I try to be," Natsu answered casually, oblivious to Lucy's embarrassed realization that he could pretty much hear anything anyone said regardless of how loud. "I'm assuming you'd rather stay here and not fight the demon?"  
"No-I mean I don't- I mean I'd rather-" Lucy stuttered.  
"Lucy, there is no shame in declining something you feel is too dangerous. While sometimes it's better to die bravely than live in fear, a true wizard understands when to back away from something that is too much for them. Why don't you stay with the villagers and make sure they're all safe?" Erza told her, placing a firm hand on the now freed blonde's shoulder.  
"Besides, I'd like Happy to stay here as well. Someone needs to look after this hairball!" Natsu joked.  
"WAAHHH! NATSU'S A BIG MEANIE!" Happy wailed.  
"Thanks…" Lucy replied, smiling slightly. "Just be careful, ok?"  
"Aye, sir!" they replied, saluting.  
"Hey, are you making fun of me again?" Happy whined.  
"Aye, sir!" they saluted again, laughing at Happy's wails at them all acting like 'big meanies'.  
Regardless, the three set out to slay the demon and save Gray's long lost teacher from her prison of ice. They were stopped briefly on the way by Mako, the village chief, who asked them why they were leaving the village instead of just destroying the moon. Natsu and Erza both were extremely confused, but Gray told the chief that they were doing some exploring first and that Lucy would stay there to answer any questions they had. After finally leaving his demands of lunar destruction, they left the village, only to get answers from Gray about the elder's insanity. Gray caught them up to speed on the mission, and they took a moment for Natsu to recover from his laughter at the elder's request.  
"I don't think I've ever seen you actually laugh before, dragon breath," Gray commented, a slightly amused look on his face.  
"Not...one...word…" Natsu said between gasps for breath and laughter, forced to wipe the tears from his eyes.  
"Yes, yes, mystery man," Erza scolded, trying to put up a serious front in place of the giant smile that was plastered on her face. "Now get up and let's go."  
"Oh, come on, Erza," Natsu told her, sighing after recovering from his fit. "You can't fool me. You thought it was just as funny as I did."  
"This is a serious situation, Natsu!" Erza was still attempting to be serious, but again, her massive grin gave her away.  
"Sure it is, Erza," Natsu mused, rolling his eyes. "Do I need to tell Gray here of that mission we took where-"  
Erza's eyes shot open and she slapped a hand over his mouth, blushing furiously. "Shut up! I have no idea what you're talking about!"  
"Hmm, those seem like the words of someone hiding something to me," Natsu said sarcastically, moving her hand off his face. "I seem to recall someone in a bit of a laughing fit after being tick-"  
"NATSU!" Erza shouted.  
"As much as this amuses me," Gray interrupted. "We need to get going. So if you two lovebirds are finished, we have cultists to find."  
"L-Lovebirds?" Erza stuttered out, somehow blushing even harder.  
"I suppose you're right, Gray," Natsu said, taking the lead and ignoring his comment. "Onwards!"  
Now recovered from...whatever...that was...the group of mages continued their way through the forest, set to find Deliora and save Gray's master from her eternal prison of ice.  
"Do you have any idea where we're going, kindling kid?" Gray asked frustratedly.  
"Not a clue, polar bare," Natsu replied. (A/N: Pun 100% intended)  
"You two have gotten a lot better at this over the years," Erza commented.  
"I believe that's due to Gray running out of insults," Natsu answered. "I could go on for a while, seeing as there are quite a lot of interesting things to make fun of with Gray. Not to say he isn't a highly skilled mage and a valued guildmate, but that it is simply very easy to make jokes about him. You see, the trick is-"  
"I thought you fixed that habit," Erza sighed, while Gray proceeded to engage in another argument with ash-breath about who was easier to make fun of.  
"Hold on," Natsu interrupted his own argument, and rapidly sniffed the air.  
"Finally find something, bloodhound?" Gray taunted.  
"Two things. One is our destination, the other is-"  
"NYEHHHHH!"  
Natsu was cut off by a gigantic rat wearing a maid outfit that landed in front of them from seemingly out of nowhere. While enormous and relatively dangerous, it was nothing that they couldn't handle.  
"WHAT IS THAT?" Gray shouted.  
"Now that is something I did not expect…" Natsu thought aloud.  
"NYEEHHHHH!" the creature screamed again, this time releasing a green gas-like substance towards the mages. Little did they know, while it actually was relatively harmless, the smell was...well...putrid would be putting it lightly.  
"Oh god! What in Mavis' name is that smell!" Erza declared, holding her nose.  
"I have no idea! Natsu, what is-Natsu?" Gray tried calling out for his teammate, but the fire mage was down for the count. The smell, nearly enough to make the two normal mages hurl, was too much for the royal dragon slayer's legendary sniffer, and he was out cold.  
"Natsu!" Erza shouted, rushing over and shaking the fallen mage. "YOU WRETCHED CREATURE!"  
'Well, that gives me an idea…' Gray thought evilly. No one had ever seen Natsu get knocked out since he first dueled against Kael. Even on all the missions he went on, most being S-Class or higher, the worst he got was a few broken bones. 'Maybe I can make some of this stuff…'  
"GRAY! Quit your scheming and fight!" Erza demanded.  
"Y-yes, ma'am!" Gray quickly replied, readying an ice-make spell. 'Well, so much for that plan…'  
It took only about a minute before the rat was down for the count, beaten and unconscious. Other than the terrible breath...gas...attack...thing...it actually had no real combat abilities. It was just a matter of not walking into a clawed swipe, and then it went down easily. After defeating the monster, the two rushed back over to their fallen compatriot and carried him past the fallen rat for a few minutes before attempting to wake him up.  
"Natsu...Natsu...wake up…" Erza calmly told him, slightly shaking his shoulders.  
'Wow...I expected her to just slap him…' Gray thought.  
"Ugh...why do I feel like I just snorted lava…" Natsu groaned.  
"Thank goodness!" Erza exclaimed, hugging him quickly, before examining her new patient for injuries. "Can you still smell ok?"  
"Erza…" Natsu groaned again, shaking off his haze, and sniffing a moment. "I think so...It's dulled a little, but you still smell amazing…"  
Erza blushed and quickly stood up while Gray just laughed.  
"Man, that was pathetic, scarface!"  
"Did you want me to amp up your smell well over 1500 times the normal strength of a human and go smell that? I didn't think so!" Natsu retorted.  
"Wait, can you actually do that?" Gray asked.  
"Not to that degree, no."  
"Wait, what does that mean?" Erza asked, now curious about the newfound revelations.  
"Some dragon sense enhancement spell thing or something...Honestly, it was the only spell I never really bothered to practice. Thought it was kind of useless."  
"Could I try it out sometime?" Erza asked quietly.  
"I don't see why not. I'll try to practice a bit more too. If I used it right now, you'd only have about a quarter of my nose."  
"I hate to interrupt your plans, but didn't you say you smelled the place where we were going?"  
"Actually, I did. My nose recovered enough, so let's go!" With that, Natsu raced off through the forest followed closely by Erza and Gray. They ran for about ten minutes before bursting through the brush into a large clearing, where, standing tall in the middle, stood a massive temple. There were two columns on either side of the entrance, and red moon-like symbols were painted on the center-most two as well as over the entrance. The temple was tiered like a massive staircase but was so large every level had a multitude of trees, bushes, and other plant life growing on it.  
"Whoa…" Gray muttered.  
"That's huge…" Erza finished.  
"Aye, sir!" Natsu exclaimed, grabbing their wrists and pulling them forward. "Onwards!"  
"I don't even want to know why this doesn't surprise you…" Gray groaned, 'following' the pyromaniac.  
"I've been just about everywhere in Ishgar, so I've seen everything from buildings made entirely of skulls to entire lakes that aren't even real," Natsu explained.  
"How can a lake-actually, don't tell me…"  
Erza chuckled at their interaction as the three entered the temple. They walked for a few minutes, simply exploring the area, when Natsu stopped them for a moment.  
"It's weird...this is definitely where Deliora should be but I can't smell him…"  
"Then how do you know he is supposed to be here? Maybe there's another temple?" Erza asked.  
"No, it's definitely here. I can't smell demon, but I definitely smell people. And before you ask, it isn't the villagers. You might not believe me, but I think they're demons too. That entire village smelled of demon. Regardless, I smell people here, and quite a lot of them."  
"The villagers are demons?" Erza questioned, shocked.  
"I'll explain later. Why don't we just follow one of the scents and shake them down for information?" Gray suggested.  
"As much as I don't like that idea, I think it may be the only one we have…" Natsu sighed and scratched the back of his head before walking forward. "Well, we might as well give it a tRYYYYY!"  
Right as the three started walking, the floor opened up beneath them and they began falling down a giant hole. It was a massive pit, twenty feet in diameter and at least two-hundred deep. Natsu was the first to fall, so he managed to grab Erza on the way down and used flames on his feet like thrusters to dull the impact.  
Erza, expecting a rough landing as soon as she started to fall, squeezed her eyes shut and braced for impact. Fortunately, it never came, and she opened her eyes to see a pair of deep green and scarred eyes, shadowed by a hood that covered the rest of him.  
"Did you enjoy your flight?" Natsu joked, smiling down at her.  
"Er-uh-thank you…" Erza stuttered as Natsu set her down.  
"Thanks for the help, charcoal…" Gray muttered, standing up and dusting himself off.  
"Looks like we're here…" Natu said darkly, quickly changing the subject. "I definitely smell demon...Let's go."  
Recovering from their respective falls, albeit for two different reasons, Gray and Erza quickly hurried after the now sprinting Natsu. Within a minute, they caught up and saw the dragon slayer standing in awe at something. That something turned out to be a massive block of ice, easily standing at 150-feet tall. The snowy prison was sitting in the middle of a massive room, making their guildhall seem like a child's playroom.  
"There it is…" Natsu muttered.  
"Deliora…" Gray growled, clenching his fist tightly.  
Sure enough, within the massive block of ice was the ultimate demon of destruction himself, Deliora. It was giant, taking up nearly the entire ice prison. Its body was almost ape-like, made entirely of muscle. Its mouth was stuck open, as if it had been frozen mid roar, revealing razor-sharp teeth the size of swords. Around its face was an additional piece of flesh-covered bone that covered its forehead and chin like a faceless mask. The piece was smooth on the outermost parts but on the inside were more tooth-like bits with two on the bottom appearing like massive fangs. On top of the mask-like piece were two horns that looked as if they could cut through steel like it was gelatin.  
"That thing...is huge…" Erza said in shock.  
"Indeed," Natsu replied, leading them behind some rocks while the two were still in shock. "Now be quiet, someone's coming. I want to see what they're doing here and then we can shake them down."  
Returning to reality, the two nodded and proceeded to duck down behind the rocks that Natsu had led them to. Moments later, they too heard the echoing sounds of footsteps through the entrance they had just arrived through.  
Three figures emerged, two men and one woman. One of them looked strangely dog-like, with dog ears on top of his head and a dog nose in his face. He wore simple green pants, no shirt, and a necklace from which dangled a single sock. The second man was much shorter and wore a rather strange almost ceremonial outfit. However, the most notable thing was his eyebrows, which seemed to defy every law of physics ever to exist with their size. Finally, the third figure was noticeably normal. She was rather beautiful, with dark pink hair set in twin ponytails one on either side of her head, and wore a pink and black dress that extended just past her waist with thigh high stockings and sleeves that were detached from the outfit.  
'Only one normal one among them…' Natsu thought. 'And that's coming from me…'  
"We need to find the intruders," the man with the eyebrows commented.  
"Arrrr…" the dog-man growled.  
"I think the moon drip spell affected you too, Toby."  
"It did not! It's a fashion statement!" the man now known as Toby defended.  
"Stop! We need to find the intruders for the Cold Emperor! Someone hurt poor Angelica! They truly have no love!" the girl exclaimed.  
"But I'm still tired from being up so early…" Toby whined.  
"The Cold Emperor entrusted us to deal with the intruders! We must find and dispose of them, in other words, to show them love!" the woman exclaimed again.  
'Well so much for one normal one…' Natsu thought sarcastically. He signaled for Erza and Gray to stay put, mouthing that he was going to try something. The two nodded in agreeance before he stood.  
"Pardon me, but I couldn't help but overhear you were looking to show me...love? Was it?" Natsu said, approaching the three.  
"Intruder!" Toby yelled.  
"Who are you and why are you here? You have five seconds before we dispose of you…" the eyebrowed man said with a glare.  
"Now, now why don't we all calm down," Natsu replied, holding his hands up as a sign of surrender. "I heard there was a group here unsealing Deliora."  
"How do you know about that? It is of the utmost secrecy and love!" the girl exclaimed.  
"Uh...right...Anyway, I was rather hoping to speak with this 'Cold Emperor'. I believe that I can assist in unsealing the demon far quicker."  
"Nonsense!" the eyebrowed man declared. "Who are you?"  
"I go by many names, but you may call me 'N'," Natsu told them. "While I can't exactly prove any of my claims, I'm sure if your leader can take down the ultimate demon of destruction, he can deal with little old me should I try to do anything. Right? I'll even let you tie me up if you wish, though I insist on staying conscious and covered."  
"Hmmm…" the eyebrowed man said, thinking. "Very well. We will bind your wrists, and you are not permitted to speak without permission. Is that clear?"  
"Thank you ever so much Mr…?"  
"You may call me Yuka," he replied. "This is Toby and Sherry."  
"A pleasure. Now, onward!" Natsu declared. They eyed him rather strangely, before binding his wrists and leading him out of the cave.  
"What was that about?" Gray asked, standing up after the group had exited.  
"I think he wants to get whoever this 'Cold Emperor' is onto our side. Another person to ensure that Deliora dies, and then we won't be interrupted while we're trying to fight it. Very good planning on his part," Erza explained.  
"I suppose, but why did he let them tie him up?" Gray questioned.  
"To gain their trust," Erza replied. 'I wonder if he enjoys being-NO! STOP!'  
"I guess...But what are we supposed to do now?"  
"Uh-er-I guess we just wait down here?" Erza stuttered, fighting off a blush.  
"Are you ok there, Erza?"  
"Yes! I'm fine! We should just wait here! Find something to occupy yourself with, understood?" she demanded, glaring at the ice mage.  
"Aye!" Gray quickly replied, saluting the knight.  
Meanwhile, Natsu was being 'escorted' by three mages that worked for a man they called 'The Cold Emperor'. They were walking up stairs and entered a room, which was relatively empty except for a sleeping mat, a chair, a desk, and a light.  
"You shall remain here under surveillance until nightfall, where you shall be introduced to the Cold Emperor, accompanied by all of us of course," Yuka explained.  
"I see, I do suppose that makes sense," Natsu replied, nodding thoughtfully. He wandered around examining the room, sniffing the contents of each object, and thoroughly exploring the place. "Yes, this shall suit me fine. I appreciate your hospitality."  
"Um...of course…"

[Meanwhile - ERA]

"Ultear...Ultear...ULTEAR!"  
"YES! Sorry, what was that Siegrain?" Ultear asked.  
"Pay attention...Ever since Salamander left you've been completely distracted. If I find out you're betraying me for the fairies…"  
"You should give little old me some more credit, Siegrain," Ultear replied, glaring slightly. "Besides, you admitted yourself that he knows all about the tower. I wouldn't be surprised if he already knew about the little group you put together…"  
"And what if he does?" Siegrain snapped. "We have more than enough power to keep him down if we combine our strength. No matter how powerful he is, he can't win against all of us."  
"Is that so…? Heavens…"  
"I told you not to call me that."  
"I think Earth and Sky could do it together, though I think they would die in the process…"  
"That's why we have Nu Wa…"  
"She may be the guardian, but you know very well she stands no chance against a dragon."  
"I think you misunderstand, Ultear, I have no need for the dragon's head. I will open the door to the heavens to return this earth to its rightful rulers. The gates of Hell are blocked and the true Dragons are all but extinct...It's high time the angels take what was always theirs, to begin with."  
"I have always admired your lofty goals, Siegrain. Now if you'll excuse me…"

[Back on Galuna Island - That Evening]

"The Cold Emperor will see you now, N," Yuka spoke, entering the room.  
"About time, I was about to come find him myself…" Natsu grumbled back, rising from his sleeping mat and following Yuka out the door. "So, tell me a bit about this 'Cold Emperor' of yours."  
"I think we'll need a bit of information on you first, N," Yuka replied flatly, clearly having been given strict instructions on how to handle the situation.  
"Very wise indeed...It is no wonder that he was able to amass a group such as this one."  
The two continued to walk down the hallway, Natsu long since having removed his restraints, though Yuka either didn't notice or didn't care. They passed many other cult members, each wearing a black robe and a hood, with masks covering their faces. Eventually, they arrived outside the temple, where awaiting them was another large group of cultists, Toby, Sherry, and a tall man wearing a blue high-collared tunic, a white cloak, and a mask hiding the top of his face with horns extending from either side.  
"So this is the man I've been hearing about…" he said as Yuka and Natsu stopped. "Now as much as I'd love to know about my group here, I'm afraid it doesn't matter. Deliora will be freed tonight, so if you're here to stop me you are far too late."  
"Ah, you misunderstand, Cold Emperor," Natsu replied. "I simply wish to work out an agreement between us. You get to free Deliora, and I get what I want."  
"Are you threatening me?" the masked man asked threateningly.  
"No, you misunderstand, Cold Emperor. See, I wish to free Deliora as well. However, I must ask, why do you intend to free him? Seems peculiar for a mage of your caliber to attempt to free one of Zeref's ultimate demons."  
"You better mind your tongue...I will free Deliora in order to slay it," he replied.  
"Well, I think we'll get along just fine. I think it's high time I make my offer, don't you?"  
The Cold Emperor narrowed his eyes at Natsu.  
"You see, I also wish to slay Deliora, however, I do not care in the slightest how he dies. I two associates waiting for me in his chambers for my return, and-"  
"You better have a damn good reason for this…" he growled.  
"Calm yourself, horn head. As you are clearly aware, Deliora is currently confined within the spell known as Iced Shell. As you may not be aware, there is more than one way to remove it. I intend to remove the seal, saving the life of the caster and freeing the demon. Once I finish, you may do with the beast as you like, though my group will be there to assist you."  
"You can't possibly be serious! Even if there was another way to undo Iced Shell, it wouldn't be possible with just one mage! Besides that, you have absolutely no magical power! Are you even a mage?"  
"Perhaps you'd like to follow me, though you'd best be prepared to fight a demon of this size…"  
"You underestimate my capabilities...The only mage on Earthland who could possibly defeat Deliora is me! I shall defeat him!" This got a cheer from the rest of the cult members.  
"I see...Well, I suppose I'll have to see if you live up to your reputation myself. Shall we go meet my associates, and give you a demon battle?"  
"And why should I trust you?"  
"Well, I have two reasons. If you want to think you even have a chance against Deliora, surely you could handle little old me should I decide to betray you. Secondly, let's say I'm not lying and can free Deliora any time I wish...You may not want to be caught off-guard by something like that, would you?" Natsu glared.  
"You seem rather confident...I don't believe you can free the demon alone, however, I shall allow you to lead me to your fellow associates. Should you betray me...I'll kill you without a second thought. Yuka, Sherry, Toby! Come with me.  
"Ar!"  
"I'll do it for love!"  
"What a group…"  
The five mages left, walking through the temple and down a long long set of stairs into the chambers of Deliora. There he remained, the massive prison of ice encapsulating the ultimate demon of destruction himself.  
"So where are these associates of yours?" the masked man demanded.  
"Calm yourself, Cold Emperor...Gray! Erza! Come out!" Natsu called, walking towards the rocks they had hid behind previously.  
"Did you say…" he started.  
"What took you so long?" Gray groaned, getting up.  
"Thank goodness you're ok!" Erza exclaimed, slamming his head into her breastplate.  
"You really need to learn how to hug properly, Erza...You know that?" Natsu grunted.  
"I believe you've mentioned it…" Erza smiled, releasing him.  
"I'd like you to meet the ones in charge of this 'cult' of whatever it is they call themselves. Yuka, Toby, Sherry, and the Cold Emperor."  
"Greetings, I apologize for the secrecy, but I look forward to working together," Erza told them bowing slightly.  
"Whoa, what are those eyebrows…" Gray muttered to himself.  
"Well, well, well...if it isn't Gray…" the Cold Emperor smirked.  
"That voice…" Gray whispered, shocked.  
"Did you know I was going to be here or was this all just a coincidence?"  
"Lyon!" Gray growled as he removed his mask, revealing a spiky head of silver hair.  
"It appears you two know each other. Gray?" Natsu asked.  
"We were both Ur's students…" he said. "Why were you trying to free Deliora? You should know what will happen!"  
"Because you killed my dream, Gray! You killed Ur! How else am I supposed to surpass her if she isn't even here anymore! So I decided to do the one thing she failed to do, free Deliora from his prison and kill him!"  
"You'd defile Ur's legacy just to prove you're better than her? You're one-hundred years too early for that, Lyon!" Gray roared.  
"As I recall, you were the first to run out to fight Deliora far too early! That's why Ur's dead in the first place!"  
"But Ur's not dead!" Gray shouted back. Lyon's eyes widened for a moment. "She's not...dead...she just told me to tell you she is. Because if you knew, she thought you'd spend your whole life trying to free her. Ur is the ice...by melting the ice, you're killing Ur…"  
Lyon started to laugh, slowly at first, and then heartily. "Don't you think I know that? I know everything there is to know about this spell! You honestly believe she's still alive? After ten years? She may be the cage, but that doesn't mean she's alive!"  
"As much as I enjoy your little rivalry here," Natsu interrupted. "I thought we were here to slay a demon."  
"I'm here to ensure you don't interfere with my plans, and I have a feeling Gray plans to do just that…" Lyon retorted.  
"On the contrary, Gray wishes to free Deliora to save his master. I assume you'd be happy to do the same? Reunite with the woman you intend to surpass?"  
"That's impossible! I already told you, Ur is dead!" Lyon shouted.  
"Well, allow me to fill you in...you see, Iced Shell was first created by the Ice Dragon Queen Glacia…" Natsu explained the origins of Iced Shell and introduced himself as the Dual Salamander, the White Fire Dragon King.  
"You expect me to believe that you are a dragon king? And that somehow Iced Shell was a spell formed by a dragon centuries ago?" Lyon asked.  
"I do. Besides, what if I fail? What if I am lying? You simply have to dispose of me and then finish with your original plan."  
"Lyon...if there is even the slightest chance to bring her back…" Gray said softly, looking down. "Please...I know that I killed her...I need to do something to fix that mistake…"  
"You've always been one to live in the past, Gray. While time moved forward, you stay the same."  
"I shall free the demon you wish to slay, as well as your teacher, in exchange for you allowing our group to assist you in defeating Deliora," Natsu explained. "So how about it, Lyon...Do we have a deal?"


	19. The Nineteenth

“And why should I agree?” Lyon sneered.   
“Because even though death is a part of life, there is always someone worth saving,” Natsu replied. Lyon’s eyes widened. It’s such an easy offer to accept, but his damn pride is in the way. “While I’d hoped for the blessing of both of Ur’s students, whether you accept it or not, I’ll still-”  
“Do it…” he muttered.  
Natsu smiled, thinking to himself, ‘Such similarities between you two. You’ve done well, Ur. I pray that you can succeed where I have failed, and save Ultear from herself.’  
“Thank you…” Gray whispered, and Erza smiled, placing a firm hand on his shoulder.  
“Well? Are you ready, Natsu?”  
“Just about, Erza. Sherry, Toby, and Yuka, you three should leave. I can sense your power, it’s not nearly enough to survive this.”  
“Hey! What do you-” Toby started.  
“He’s right, you three,” Lyon interrupted. “We’ll handle it.”  
The three grumbled something about ‘unfair,’ something about ‘cocky mages,’ and something about ‘not very love,’ whatever the heck that meant. Regardless, they left, leaving the small force of Natsu, Erza, Gray, and Lyon to face the demon.   
“Erza and I will take the front while you two attack from range. I want to make one thing absolutely clear,” Natsu said, glaring at the three. “I’m fully aware of the power level that Deliora faces, and, while I pray to Bahamut that we’ll be enough, if I say retreat you are to retreat. Is that clear?”  
Lyon and Gray scoffed, and Erza nodded numbly. She’d expected this, not that she was comfortable with it, just that she saw it coming.   
“Very well. Let’s just hope this goes as planned…” Natsu mumbled to himself approaching the ice. They rested in a rather simple formation, Natsu in the front about fifteen feet away from the demon, followed by Erza, with Gray and Lyon behind her on either side. “Brace yourselves, this is going to be a hell of a lot of magic.”  
“I still don’t understand what you’re talking about,” Lyon grunted. “I can’t feel any magic coming off you at all.”  
“Just wait for it...Guy’s a freak of nature…” Gray mumbled.  
“I heard that!” Natsu shouted back, before closing his eyes and getting into a stance. His knees were slightly bent and his left side was favored towards the demon, while his left palm was extended with his right palm at his side. “O’ flames that burn white with holy light, I invoke my royal blood. Mrith wer ibafarshani ini wer shehad darastrixi ghoros ve, si valignat mojka wer seal batobot jilgic! [With the flames invested by the royal dragons before me, I burn away the seal that holds] Royal White Fire Dragon’s SEAL-RELEASE!” With a final shout, he thrust his right palm forward unleashing an ungodly amount of magical power.  
“ROOAAARRRRR”  
A massive draconic roar was unleashed as the white flames Natsu shot from his palm rocketed towards the ice and transformed into the shape of a massive dragon. The dragon curled itself around the demon and reared its head back, unleashing another ear-splitting roar. Slowly, the ice started to drip down the sides of the prison. After about five minutes, the figure of a woman started slowly emerging from the front of the cube, naked as the day she was born. She had chin-length dark purple hair and pale white skin, however, her eyes were closed and she was missing her right leg. Eventually, she was fully released from her cage and fell into the waiting arms of Natsu, who had approached earlier to retrieve her.  
Gray and Lyon stood there in utter shock, their long-long teacher finally returning.  
“Ur…” Gray whispered.  
“It’s...really...her…”  
“Erza, why don’t you take her with you,” Natsu suggested. “I think these two have more important things to worry about, and I don’t particularly love the idea of being seen carrying around an unconscious naked woman.”  
“Uh..er...right…” Erza blushed, requipping a jacket to cover her with and taking the woman from Natsu. “I’ll be-”  
Crack  
Crack  
“RAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHHH!”  
With a demonic roar, the ice that once imprisoned Zeref’s demon was destroyed allowing the newly freed demon of destruction to reap destruction upon the land before him.  
“Deliora…” Gray growled.  
“This power…” Lyon whispered. “I’d forgotten...how oppressive it is…” The once cocky and self-proclaimed ‘Cold Emperor’ started to realize just how in over his head he really was; this demon was on a level far beyond his capabilities and perhaps beyond those he could achieve in the next decade or longer.  
“Hope you two ice freaks aren’t getting cold feet on me!” Natsu called, preparing for the battle ahead. “‘Cause I’m all FIRED UP!”   
“Not a chance, flame-brain! This creature killed my family...slaughtered my village...and stole my master away for years! Like hell I’ll get cold feet now!”  
Lyon just stood there numbly for a moment, processing the power of Deliora and the power of the one who released him. After a moment, he snapped back to reality, prepared to join the fight. Perhaps for his life, perhaps for revenge, or perhaps just to prove his worth to himself now that he’s seen truly powerful monsters.  
“Alright, let’s do this! Fire Dragon’s TALON!” Natsu shouted, launching himself in the air before delivering a fierce flaming kick to the demon’s face. This seemed to have almost no effect on the beast, the small explosion nowhere near enough to leave even a scratch or a burn.  
“RAAAAAAAGHHHH!” the demon screamed back, now figuring out what was happening. Just because he’s a demon doesn’t mean being revived after ten years is easy, you know.  
“Ice-make LANCE!” Gray called, firing off a barrage of icy spearheads.  
“Ice-make APE!” Lyon added to the mix, summoning a monkey of ice in front of him.   
The demon, however, did not really appreciate these attacks. The lances didn’t phase him at all, and the monkey was of no concern, but for Deliora, death is death. His existence is meant for destruction, and it is destruction he will give. Unleashing another mighty roar, he slammed his fist into the ground, narrowly avoiding smashing Natsu into a bloody pulp, and causing the entire temple to shake.   
“This place isn’t gonna survive very long!” Gray called.  
“I know that!” Natsu shouted back. “Keep hitting him, try to lure him outside! Lyon, meet up with Erza and make sure everyone knows what’s going on!”  
“What makes you think-” Lyon started, before being cut off by a massive roar by Deliora, and another punch that Natsu managed to avoid. This time, the punch started to shatter the temple above them, with giant pieces of the ceiling raining down on them from above.  
“THAT’S WHY, DAMMIT! JUST DO IT!” Natsu yelled back, before unleashing a fire dragon’s roar at the beast, temporarily distracting it.   
“Right!” Lyon, realizing what his situation actually was, quickly complied with the request, running towards the exit.   
“Let’s go, Gray! Follow Lyon!” Natsu called out, running towards the hall. “Just keep hitting him!”   
“Right! Ice-make HAMMER!”   
The two Fairy Tail mages continued their strategy, firing several, unfortunately ineffective, ranged attacks to distract the demon, forcing it into chasing them. Unfortunately, that didn’t work very long, and the demon unleashed another loud roar and began to build up massive amounts of magic in its mouth.   
“GRAY! GET OUT OF THE WAY! THIS IS A BIG ONE!” Natsu screamed out, knowing full well that it would take too long to generate enough power to cancel it out, and even if he could, most of the island would be destroyed in the explosion.   
Deliora fired a thick beam of magic forward, barely avoiding taking off Gray’s leg as he had done with his master before him, and destroying everything in a massive line in front of him, before everything erupted in flames.  
“NATSU! WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!” Gray yelled back.  
“DON’T YOU THINK I KNOW THAT, ICE BOY? FIRE DRAGON’S ROAR!” This time, Natsu’s trick didn’t work, as Deliora simply slammed a massive fist forward through the flames, connecting with Natsu’s chest. A crack was heard as Natsu coughed up blood and was shot out of the temple like a bullet.  
“NATSU!” Gray screamed, sprinting full speed after his fellow mage.   
Natsu slammed backward, crashing straight through two trees before stopping after hitting the third one. “Ugh…” he groaned in pain. “I haven’t been hit that hard since training with Igneel…”  
“NATSU!” The voice calling his name was none other than Erza, who, with Lyon, had gotten everyone else to continue escaping and were now approaching the fight. “Natsu! Are you ok?! Natsu!”  
“Erza…” Natsu groaned out again, holding his ribcage while slowly standing. “I should be fine...Just a few broken ribs...Make sure Gray is ok…”  
“A few broken ribs is not ‘fine,’ Natsu!” Erza complained. “Just be careful!”  
“I know that, Erza…”  
RRAAAAAAARRRRGHHHH  
“GUYS! A LITTLE HELP OVER HERE!” Gray called out, sprinting over to them, as the demon lumbered itself out of the now collapsed temple.   
“Everyone ready? Go all out!” Natsu declared, shaking off his pain and stepping to the front.  
“Are you sure you’re ok, Natsu?” Erza asked worriedly.   
“Don’t sweat it, Erza. You know it’ll take a lot more than this to keep me down,” Natsu replied. “Alright, Erza! With me! Gray and Lyon! Fire away!”  
With a cheer, the mages sprung into action. Gray and Lyon started firing off ice-make lances and eagles respectively, while Erza and Natsu sprinted towards the demon, Natsu taking the right flank and Erza on the left.  
“Requip! Purgatory Armor!” Erza shouted, going all out right off the bat. Purgatory armor is one feared by all as one of the legendary Titania’s strongest armors. The piece is solid black in color, adorned with spikes from shoulder to the gauntlet, as well as on the leg pieces. As a weapon, it comes with a massive, black, spiked mace that she can swing with unimaginable power. Raising it above her head, the red-haired warrior jumped up and slammed it down on the demon’s left shoulder, causing it to roar in pain. Not much damage was done, but at least they were able to hurt it.  
“White Fire Dragon King's CLAW!” Natsu shouted, forming a dragon claw out of white fire and slashing down the demon’s right arm, giving him a noticeable burn.  
Deliora did not appreciate this, and unleashed another massive beam of energy, slicing a path straight from the jungle to the ocean, once again erupting in fire.   
‘He’s gonna burn down the whole forest!’ Natsu thought. “White Fire Dragon King’s Secret Art: FLARE BLITZ!” With that called, Natsu was gone.  
“Natsu!?” Erza yelled. “Where did you-”  
RAAAAARRRRRRGHHHHHH  
Erza was cut off by the demon who was now screeching and roaring in pain. All the other mages could see was rapid bursts of white flames appearing all over the demon’s body, from its legs to its massive jaw.   
The demon swung its arm towards Erza, who was forced to block the attack with her mace, shattering the weapon and launching her backward straight into Gray.  
“Erza! Are you alright!” Gray asked desperately, after grunting from the immense pain of an armored warrior slamming into his ribcage. ‘That’s gonna leave a mark.’  
“I’m fine! What happened to the fire?” she asked, now back into her normal Heart Kruz armor and skirt. Sure enough, the massive trail of flames was no longer there, just a line of visible destruction.   
“Probably flame-brain,” Gray replied, rolling his eyes.   
“Are you two gonna sit there and chat or are you going to help me!” Lyon yelled in frustration. He was already extremely low on magic, having already cast over a dozen spells.   
“Right!” Erza replied, standing and requipping into her Black Wing Armor. Natsu appeared quite suddenly in front of them, eyes his arms and legs covered in scrapes and cuts, while panting heavily.   
“O’ flames that burn white with holy light, may you join together with those of a raging dragon…” he chanted, forming an orb of white and orange flames, mixing together between his hands.  
“Lyon! Back up!” Gray called.  
“Royal Dragon Slayer Secret Art…” with that, a fiery katana made from white and orange flames appeared, as he dashed past the demon.  
“What is he-”  
“DUAL DRAGON FIRE HELLSTORM!”   
BOOOOOOOOOOM  
RAAAAAAARRRRRGHHHHHH!  
The demon was howling in agony, as a massive pillar of multi-colored flames erupted from beneath him.   
“Sweet mother of…” Lyon stared wide-eyed in shock.  
“Natsu…” Erza whispered, also shocked.  
“Ash-breath used that one last time…” Gray muttered to himself, trying not to be impressed by his arch-rivals spellcasting ability.  
Just before the flames died down, Natsu jogged back up to them panting heavily.  
“Natsu! Are you alright?” Erza asked, inspecting him for excess damage.   
“I’m...fine…” he panted. “That’s not...nearly...enough…”  
“That didn’t get him?” Lyon asked in shock, fully realizing now what they were up against.   
“No...listen...I never wanted to do this again...but you guys need to get out of here…”   
“Are you crazy?” Gray yelled. “You’re exhausted, there’s no way we can do that!”  
“Gray’s right! We can’t leave you here to sacrifice yourself!” Erza declared.  
“I’ll be fine...just unconscious for a few days...is all…” Natsu said, catching his breath. The flames died down, revealing a very much alive demon, though he was covered in burns and was visibly furious.   
“What does that mean, lizard face?” Gray pressed.  
“I still have my second seal, and there are spells that I won’t be able to kill him with if I have to keep you guys alive.”  
‘He has more power?’ Lyon wondered in shock. ‘What on earthland IS he??’  
“What are you talking about, Natsu?!” Erza practically yelled.  
“Royal Dragon Force!” he snapped. “Just please, run away. A quarter-mile should be enough, but your clothes will still melt. Just trust me...I couldn't live with myself if you died…” With that, Natsu turned and sprinted towards the demon, jumping over his massive right hook and kicking him in the shoulder with a burst of white flames.  
“NATSU!” Erza yelled, trying to go after him, only to be held back by Gray and Lyon.  
“Just trust matchstick on this one, Erza. We need to run, now. If you value his safety…” Gray told her, sadly.   
“I’ve never seen him fight before, but if he has another trick up his sleeve...well from what we’ve seen so far, I’d be willing to trust him,” Lyon added.  
“Fine…” Erza nodded in defeat and started sprinting away from the demon with the two ice mages in tow. ‘You better be careful Natsu…’  
Moments later, the group of Gray, Lyon, and Erza had finally gotten at a distance where they could no longer feel any magic from the fight between the demon and the dragon slayer. Or at least, they thought so. Immediately after stopping to catch their breath, they began to feel an intense heat like something they’d never felt before.  
“What...on earth land...is this?” Gray panted, severely sweating as the only remnants of his clothes melted away.  
“Such heat...I’ve never...felt anything...like this before…” Lyon gasped as well, trying to find any semblance of coverage.   
“In fairness, he did warn us,” Erza declared, seemingly unphased. Well, that’s how it was on the outside, but even through her Flame Empress armor that she had donned for this very reason, she could feel the heat. ‘What on earth land is he using??’  
They continued to sweat amongst themselves for several minutes as they listened to the demon howl and screech in agony. Soon after, they heard it. The loudest roar any of them had ever seen.  
RRROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRR  
The ground beneath them quaked, and they held their ears in pain as the noise was nearly enough to make their ears break and bleed.   
“WHAT WAS THAT?” Gray yelled, barely able to hear himself over the ringing in his ears.  
“I HAVE NO IDEA! SHOULD WE GO CHECK ON NATSU?” Erza shouted back.  
“THAT DIDN’T SOUND LIKE THE DEMON, IT SOUNDED LIKE A DRAGON,” Lyon added.  
“YOU DON’T THINK THAT WAS NATSU DO YOU?” Gray asked, dumbfounded.  
Before Erza could reply they heard a flapping noise above and felt powerful winds that blew their hair wildly about. As they turned to investigate, a winged man descended upon them. He had massive wings, their reach spanning at least thirty-feet, scales that glittered in white and red, and horns on either side of his head. As soon as he landed, he dropped to all fours, allowing them to notice the clawed, draconic appendages that were now in place of his hands. The figure was wearing knee-length white pants that clearly had seen better days, a black, gold-trimmed waistcoat that was open and in tatters. He also had two black scale earrings, a talon necklace, and a scarf made of shimmering white scales.  
“Natsu!” Erza shouted, running over to the panting fire mage.   
“I may have...overdone it...a bi-...” Before he could finish, Natsu passed out on the spot, his wings, horns, and draconic appendages slowly receding and reforming into his original state, as his white and pink hair fluttered in the wind.  
“So this is the power...of the legendary Dual Salamander…” Lyon whispered, his eyes widened in shock.  
“Just so you know, Natsu hates it when people know pretty much anything about him, especially his name and face. Figured you might want to know that in case he finds out who started any rumors,” Gray informed his fellow student. Lyon immediately paled and nodded, realizing quickly that any and all of what just happened was classified, lest he face the wrath of an angry dragon king. “Though I will say, that’s never happened before, or at least, I’ve never seen it.”  
“I believe that was royal dragon force, Gray,” Erza informed him, now cradling the fallen slayer in her lap, having requipped into her blouse and skirt. “And for the love of Mavis, cover yourselves!” she shouted at them, requipping various pairs of shorts and shirts for the two distracted ice mages.  
“It wasn’t even my fault this time!” Gray defended.  
“This time…?” Lyon questioned, accepting the clothes from the knight.   
“Anyway, Natsu’s mentioned it a few times. Levy is probably the only one besides Natsu who could give you any details, considering the two have been writing a book about dragons and dragon slayers, but I know a bit about it from what he’s told me. You are aware that Natsu has two magic containers, and one is kept sealed almost all the time. His first one alone is massive, almost on par with that of a wizard saint, and easily allows him to outdo everyone except probably Gildarts and Makarov in our guild. His second one, however, is supposedly even larger, though it drains extremely quickly making it seem smaller. I don’t know exactly what the difference is, but apparently, he is able to utilize that second container to enter into royal dragon force.”  
“How come he didn’t go into...that...state...when he did that power demonstration a few days ago?” Gray asked. “And how the hell did flame-brain get wings?”  
“I’m sorry, second magic seal? And power demonstration?” Lyon asked, completely lost at this point.   
Erza sighed and caught him up to speed. “To put it simply, Natsu has two magic containers. The one you felt earlier while fighting, and a second one which is even larger. He also has the remarkable ability to keep all of his magic power completely undetectable to anyone but the most skilled of sensory mages. A few days ago, Natsu finally returned from a year-long journey he took away from the guild following the death of one of our strongest members named Kael. He took it rather harshly and left without a word. After returning, we may have pressured him into showing us how much he’s grown by actually letting us feel his magic aura. And...well...he knocked almost the entire guild unconscious without using an attack…” she finished as Lyon’s eyes widened. “And to answer your question, Gray, I have no idea. The important thing is we get him back to the village.”  
They agreed, and the now fully clothed group set off for the village, set to reconvene with the rest of the members of both groups, as well as Ur, who they hoped would be conscious soon. As expected, upon returning, Lucy and Happy were extremely worried, especially Happy who paled upon learning that Natsu was forced into using his royal dragon force, and almost fainted when he learned that he got wings this time. ‘This time…’ Erza thought to herself, noting to herself to get some answers on who was able to force him into this state before.   
They remained in the village for three days, during that time both Ur and Natsu were unconscious, worrying everyone. However, in addition to that, Gray and Lucy managed to solve the mystery behind the island’s curse. Bobo and Natsu had been correct; everyone on the island was a demon, however, their memory had been altered due to moon drip residue that had collected and formed a thick membrane above the island. Erza had assisted the two in getting rid of the barrier, and the town celebrated their ‘cure,’ regardless of the fact that it truly wasn’t what they were expecting. Even Bobo had returned, and his father wept tears of joy to see his son again.  
It was on the third morning, that Natsu began to slowly awake from his slumber, his magical containers finally having absorbed enough ethernano to recover from his island devastation. ‘Everything hurts so much...and what on earth is that weight on my chest…?’ Natsu wondered, as he gradually returned to the land of the living. Slowly gathering his surroundings, he noticed that someone had replaced his clothes with identical, less-destroyed versions, though his shirt was missing and replaced by bandages. His scarf, necklace, and earrings were still there and unharmed. The strangest thing, however, was the scarlet haired warrior that was smiling softly curled up next to him with her head resting softly on his chest. Gazing down he smiled back at her, and patted her head softly, eliciting a slight mumble from the sleeping fairy, to which he chuckled in response.  
“Erza,” Natsu whispered, rubbing her shoulder with his arm. “Erza.”  
“Cheesecake...Natsu...feed...cheesecake…” she mumbled, getting a slight blush and an amused grin from the slayer.  
“Erza,” he said a bit louder, rubbing her shoulder with more force, and using his other hand to poke her cheek slightly.  
Erza’s eyes fluttered open slightly at the movement and glanced up to see a now roused Salamander gazing down fondly at her. “I can’t feed you cheesecake if you’re on my arm you know,” he teased.  
Her eyes widened and she blushed fiercely, remembering the dream she had been having. ‘Natsu slowly fed me cheesecake while staring lovingly into my eyes, as-wait...Natu’s up?!?’ “NATSU!” she shouted, quickly awakening and giving him a giant hug.   
“Looks like someone improved their hugging skills, eh?” Natsu teased again.  
“Shut up…” she mumbled from his bandaged chest. “You’re an idiot…”  
“Aw, poor little Erzy, I didn’t know you were that worried about me,” Natsu teased again, loving the fierce blush and stuttering of the knight. “Calm down, Erza, I’m just teasing you. I’d be just as worried if our positions were reversed. Now hows about we get some breakfast, eh?”  
Erza nodded, deciding that her interrogation and punishment could come at a later time, and simply released the fire mage from her hug as he sat up. Natsu, however, had other plans to tease her even more and decided to go for it. “You’re so CUTE in the morning, Erzy!” he cooed, grabbing her and nuzzling her neck against his own.  
Erza squeaked and completely froze as Natsu pulled back laughing. “W-what w-w-was that f-f-for?” she stuttered out.  
“My amusement, and your enjoyment,” Natsu replied, winking and standing up, before taking her hand and pulling her up with him. “Now let’s go before I get any more ideas, eh?”  
The two exited the tent together and started walking towards a group of demons who had been preparing breakfast. “So, Ur’s still unconscious?”  
“Yes, I’m getting a bit worried,” Erza replied.  
“I wouldn’t be. Remember, she was frozen for about a decade, so it shouldn’t be-”  
“NATSHHUUUUUU!” Happy wailed, crashing into the fire mage’s chest and bawling. “You’re ok! I was so worried about you!”  
“Aw, thanks lil’ buddy! I don’t suppose you have another cloak I could wear, do ya?”  
“Sorry, Natsu, I only brought the one,” Happy answered, settling on snuggling himself into the pyro’s scarf.  
“Oh, well. Looks like I’ll be getting a few looks then.” Natsu sighed and rubbed his temple, as Erza smiled amusedly at him. “Now, let’s see if we can’t find you a fish.”  
“Aye, sir!”  
The three sat down for breakfast, joined shortly after by Lucy, Gray, Lyon, Sherry, Toby, and Yuka. For the most part, it was silent, however, it was Gray who finally broke it.  
“So, you gonna tell us what happened over there, fire boy?”  
“What do you mean by that?” Natsu asked, cluelessly.  
“How could you not know what he means?” Lucy asked, incredulously. “What was all that rumbling, and those explosions, and why did it get so hot, and then what the heck was that roar? I thought my ears were gonna start bleeding, and I wasn’t anywhere near you guys!”  
“Ohhh, that,” Natsu replied, causing all the other mages to nearly fall over in exasperation. “Well, let’s take it from the top…” he started, recounting all the details up until he sent Erza, Gray, and Lyon away from the fight.  
Everyone who hadn’t been in the fight had their jaws dropped to the ground, listening to the tale of some of the strongest mages they knew were barely able to scratch the demon.  
“Yes, but what happened after we left, Natsu?” Erza pressed, desperate for details on how he managed to kill that beast.  
“I’m confused too,” Lucy added. “I mean, if all of you together couldn’t beat it, how were you supposed to do it alone?”  
“Right! I should probably explain. So, as you may know, dragon slayers have an ability called dragon force, which is activated upon releasing an enormous amount of magic throughout the body at once. Dragon slayers can’t really do this on command, they’d have to eat comically high amounts of their element or be pressed into extreme situations to activate it. I have royal dragon force, which is almost the same but is a bit stronger. However, since I have a second magic container, I can activate it at will, though it is extremely dangerous, seeing as I have to essentially snap the container open all at once to activate it, which is why I didn’t enter royal dragon force during my demonstration a few days ago. That was a gradual increase in magical power, as I slowly opened the container, the same way you guys would with your first, but to enter that state I need to release it all at once,” he explained. “So, after you guys left…”

[Flashback]

Natsu toyed with the demon for several minutes, taking a few hits from flying rocks and branches, while delivering kicks and punches strengthened by royal white flames in return. Now, he decided, they were far enough away. He can go all out. Kicking the demon in the chest, he used the momentum to spring outwards, giving him distance from the beast.   
Natsu closed his eyes for a moment, as time seemed to gradually slow around him. Inhaling deeply, he snapped open his eyes, popping his second seal wide open. The rapid influx of magic power shot his body into overdrive, the release of power even causing Deliora to stumble slightly. White scales began to show prominence on the right side of his face, with red ones appearing on the left. Two horns, one red and one white, joined them. His hands became the claws of a dragon with his feet becoming their talons, and on his back was a massive pain he’d never experienced before as his bones and muscle moved and shuffled around to form a massive pair of scaled white wings protruding from his back.   
Flapping his new appendages for a moment, testing the new ability, Natsu launched himself into the air, beginning his conquest of Deliora. “O’ flames that burn white with holy light, accept my rage, and burn all those who oppose me. Take the form of deathly wings and BURN! WHITE FIRE DRAGON KING’S SECRET ART: RAGING WINGS!” he yelled, repeating one of his most powerful, and most hated, spells of destruction. His wings erupted in the most powerful white flames he could muster. His thirty-foot wingspan now extended by ten feet, the flaming wings sparkled like the sun in brilliant white, and each flap of his wings shot a blistering wave of heat, melting the ground beneath the beast.  
Deliora tried to retaliate, but the once-mighty demon was only able to roar and scream in agony, as the near-indestructible demon hide he prided himself on began to slowly melt away.  
“White Fire Dragon’s SWORD HORN!” Unleashing as much of the remaining magical power he had left, he coated his body in royal white flames, barely managing to maintain his previous spell, and rocketed towards the beast. He shot straight through it, searing a massive charred hole through the once legendary demon. With a final roar, he collapsed on his knees, as his flesh continued to melt away.   
Natsu landed on the ground facing away from the demon, one knee on the ground while panting heavily. He turned to face the melting demon, as his flames died away, and unleashed a mighty roar. It was far louder than anything the demon had released, as if an army of dragons together called out their battle cry. Rumors would spread throughout Fiore as nearly everyone in Hargeon had heard the mighty roar. With the declaration of his victory now released, he once again took flight, following the path the now-departed mages had taken.

[Flashback End]

“And then I flew over to you guys, and that’s all I remember,” Natsu said, scratching his head in thought. “What, did I spill something?”  
The mages were all just staring at him, completely shocked to find that the massive blast of sound that shook the entire island came from him...just some guy in their guild, not an army of dragons and demons.  
“THAT WAS YOU?” Gray yelled.  
“Yes. The reason has to do with the eternal conflict between the demons, the angels, and the dragons, though that in itself is a discussion for another day,” Natsu explained.  
“Right…” Lucy deadpanned. ‘This guy is insane...remind me never to piss him off…’  
“So you weren’t kidding when you said you were a dragon king?” Lyon asked, a bit nervously.  
“I may have been exaggerating but I wasn’t kidding,” Natsu sighed, and scratched his head again. “I’ll try to explain. In terms of human laws, customs, and traditions, yes. I am the White Fire Dragon King. However, dragons are a bit...different. While I wield that magic of a royal dragon, and am the son of a now-deceased king, I should be king, however, I have not been formally accepted by any other dragons. That can be done through a ceremony, a show of force, a passing of the torch, among other ways. I haven’t felt the need to go out and do any of that, since I personally don’t care all that much. Not until I get to kill him…”  
Happy lightly patted Natsu’s shoulder at this, comforting the now angry slayer.   
“That sounds like a bit of confusing love!” Sherry exclaimed.   
“Right…”  
“How long until Ur wakes up?” Gray asked.  
“I’d say sometime today, honestly,” Natsu replied. “I’ll go check on her, maybe a bit of magic will wake her up. You guys wait here.”  
The party nodded as Natsu stood to walk away, content to discuss what just happened to their guildmate.  
Meanwhile, Natsu entered a tent that contained the now freed woman, who, fortunately, was fully clothed and resting. He knelt down and put a pointer finger on each temple, gauging her magic.   
“Wait a minute…” he said aloud to himself, sitting back. “What are you doing, you’re not even unconscious!”  
“Man, even in heaven I can’t sleep…” she grumbled, opening her eyes. “And who are you supposed to be, cutey? My, my, if I get to have you I must be in heaven. But...what’s with the hair?”  
Natsu sighed and rubbed his forehead. “You’re not dead, you idiot. If you were in heaven don’t you think they’d have given you your leg back? Speaking of which, when we get back I’ll call in a favor to have someone make you a new one.”  
“Hmm? I’m not dead?” she asked, confused. “What do you mean I’m not dead? Everyone knows Iced Shell kills the caster eventually. As much as I want to believe that you are my hunky knight in shining...whatever it is that you’re wearing...I can’t be alive.”  
“I hate to break it to you, Ur, but that’s not the case,” Natsu informed her. ‘I really hope she doesn’t get worse if she does find out I saved her...yeesh…’  
“Wait...really? I’m not dead and you actually did save me?”  
“Short and simply? Yes. We have a lot to talk about, but first, there are some people who’d like to see you.”  
“We definitely have a lot to talk about mystery boy,” she smirked. “But first, what’s your name and how do you know mine?”  
“You may call me Salamander. Now come on, up you go,” he said, lifting her princess-style by her one knee and back.  
“Wow~,” she cooed, snuggling into his chest. “You’re warm for a knight.”  
“And you’re delirious,” he mumbled, rolling his eyes.   
He took her outside the tent and approached the group, as Lyon and Gray both looked at him in awe as their long-departed teacher was being carried over to them.  
“Ur…” Gray whispered.  
“It’s really you…” Lyon added.  
“Hmmm?” Ur replied, glancing over at the two. “Wow, you two have grown a lot! Mind telling me what the hell is going on here while my knight in shining armor here acts as my personal transport?”  
Gray and Lyon sweatdropped slightly while Erza immediately started choking on her drink.   
“I think she might be...a little...delirious…” Natsu replied sheepishly, trying to set her down on a chair, however, she very adamantly clung to her self-proclaimed ‘hunky savior.’  
“No...she’s always been like that…” Gray deadpanned.  
“Oh, good grief…” Natsu groaned, giving up trying to set the woman down and just sitting next to Erza.  
“So where to begin…” Natsu told the story, including the origins of Iced Shell, Lyon’s escapades, and the battle of the demon.   
“So before I do anything else, would you mind bringing me closer to my silver-haired student?” Ur asked, earning a nod from Natsu who walked over to Lyon. “YOU MORON!” she shouted, decking him in the back of the head. “WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!”  
“OW! I’m sorry! OW! Stop that! Ow!” Lyon pleaded as he repeatedly got smacked in the back of the head.  
“That’s enough adventures for one day…” Natsu muttered, taking the aggressive woman back to his seat.  
“I wasn’t done punishing him yet!” Ur whined.  
“I’m sure you can punish him later,” Natsu sighed. “Now, we really should get going back to Hargeon. The ship I got here on should still be docked, so we can take that. And Ur, you should spend time with your students who’ve spent the last decade suffering from your loss.”  
“Fine…” Ur grumbled. “I suppose I’ll see if they live up to my expectations, but I expect a visit from you, dragon boy.”  
“As I told you, we have much to discuss, however, this isn’t the time or the place. Now here, Gray can carry you,” as he plopped the woman into Gray’s arms, much to both of their surprise and displeasure. No one noticed Erza’s once seething facial features return to normal as he got rid of his excess weight. “Now let’s go, we have a ship to catch!”  
“Aye, sir!” they called in response, following Natsu.  
The journey was fairly uneventful, though they were all rather surprised that Natsu wasn’t getting motion sickness, which he had to re-explain the motion sickness lacrima that was on board. Ur decided that she wanted to stay with her ‘hunky savior,’ much to both Natsu and Erza’s displeasure, and decided she would join Fairy Tail. Ur told Lyon that he should join a guild elsewhere and spend time improving on his own and reevaluating some of his goals. She was, however, very impressed with how both of her students had progressed, and told them both how proud she was of how far they’d come. Natsu explained to her that he would take her to Porlyusica who should be able to get her a new leg, and that she should probably avoid any strenuous physical or magical activity for another week while she readjusts to not being a giant block of ice. All-in-all, it was a fairly exciting journey.

[Elsewhere]

‘I wonder if he was able to really free her…’ a young woman thought to herself, gazing out at the sky from her window. ‘Mother…’


	20. The Twentieth

[Fairy Tail Guild Hall - X785]

“Another round over here, Mira!”   
“Here, here!”  
“Coming right up!” Mira called in response. Lately, the white-haired barmaid has been rather happy. She’s been on a job recently, Natsu came back to her, and everything in her life seems to be going back to normal. ‘I wonder if they’ll be back soon…’  
As if on queue, just as Mira finished handing the next round to a table of mages, the doors burst open to a sight that was both peculiar and normal.  
“We have returned alive,” the figure called.   
“Natsu!” Mira yelled excitedly but stopped a few feet in front of him. “Wait, why aren’t you wearing your cloak? And who is THAT?”  
“This here is my hunky dragon savior,” the woman that Natsu was carrying replied. Their agreement was that Natsu would carry her back as long as Gray took care of her until she got her leg back. Erza, needless to say, was unusually quiet their entire trip back.  
“For the last time, would you stop saying that? Here, Gray, take this please…” Natsu sighed, handing her off to Gray.  
“Hey, wait a-oof,” Gray replied, catching his falling teacher.   
“Natsu...are you going to tell me who that is?” Mira said with a devious smile. Everyone behind Natsu shivered.  
“There’s the demon, I was starting to wonder if she disappeared,” Natsu answered with a smirk. “She’s a new recruit. Is the master here? There’s quite a bit of information regarding her that needs to be discussed.”  
“He’s in his office. Mind telling me why you were parading her around?”   
“She’s missing a leg, Jane…” Natsu deadpanned. Mira’s eyes widened and she blushed in embarrassment.  
“Oh, I’m so sorry, I had no idea,” she stammered.   
“Don’t get your panties in a twist, cutie,” Ur told her. “My name’s Ur.”  
“Right! I’m sorry. Come with me and we’ll get you your stamp,” Mira told her, guiding Gray over to the bar with a one-legged ice mage in his arms.  
“Alright, everyone!” Natsu announced loudly as Makarov emerged from his office. “I’d like you to meet our new member Ur Milkovich!”  
A cheer rang out among the guild members, in addition to a few loud declarations of ‘Let’s party!’ and drinks started flowing like wide-opened floodgates. Lucy, Happy, and Erza went to go socialize and devour comically high amounts of strawberry cake respectively, and Natsu used this confusion to head over to the master, who was currently investigating the new member…’s assets…  
“Master...how many times have I told you to keep your hands to yourself,” Mira scolded, before adding another one of her trademarked sweet smiles that promise death if you don’t heed her every word. “Or do we need to have another discussion on how to properly treat women?”  
Makarov paled and began stuttering his acceptance. “You never change do you, Master,” Natsu sighed, shaking his head.  
“There you are Natsu! You never answered my question, and I never got my hug!” she pouted.   
“Well, we can fix both of those things,” Natsu replied, giving her a quick hug. “Master, I need you to come with me to Porlyusica’s house. Ur needs a new leg as well as some important information. Jane if you’d like to come too, you’re more than welcome to accompany us.”  
“Can do, my boy,” Makarov replied, hopping off his stool.   
“Sure!” Mira replied happily, following Makarov towards the door after calling for Lisanna to cover for her.  
“Alright, let’s go,” Natsu sighed, yanking the newly added ice-make mage into his arms.  
“I’m all yours, dragon boy,” she purred.  
“We’re gonna have to do something about that…Gray! Let’s go!”  
“Where are we going, kindling-for-brains?” Gray taunted back.  
“Where do you think we’re going? Unless you want to be Ur’s taxi, she needs a leg!”  
“Right…”  
And so, the group of mages, including Natsu, who has been finally recloaked, Gray, Mirajane, Makarov, and Ur, who was being carried by Natsu, departed for the home of Porlyusica. They arrived within the hour to a very displeased pink-haired old lady.  
“What is it, brats? Why are you here?” she snapped.  
“Good to see you again, Porlyusica,” Natsu spoke up, stepping in front of the group and shaking off his hood. “I need to call in a favor.”  
Porlyusica sighed and shook her head. “Very well, Natsu. Come inside. Why are the rest of the brats here?”  
“There’s a lot of information that Gray and Makarov need to hear, and Jane is my plus-one,” Natsu told her, as he stepped in.  
“Well, fine. Come on in brats, but hurry up about it. I’ve had it about up to here with you humans…” she grumbled.  
The rest of the group followed, everyone including Makarov shocked that she seemed reasonably friendly with the dragon slayer, and Natsu set Ur down on the bed while the rest of them found a place in the room to stand and Natsu took a seat at the foot of the bed.  
“This is Ur Milkovich,” Natsu explained. “She’s recently been released from a ten-year-long seal inside of Iced Shell, so I’d like you to give her a once-over to make sure everything’s ok with her. In addition, as you can tell, she’s missing a leg, so I’d like you to get her a replacement.”  
“Iced Shell? How on earth land is she alive?” Porlyusica gasped.  
“I’ve told this story four times now, but the short version is since it is a spell derived from dragons, and I use White Fire Dragon King magic, I was able to free her.” The healer nodded and left the room to prepare a few things.  
“You know, you could sit here and let someone else take the chair,” Ur told him, patting the spot right next to her.  
Mira’s eye twitched slightly as Natsu just sighed and rubbed his face again. “That’s quite alright, Ur. Now if you please, this is serious. First off, I need to give the mission report to the master.” Natsu explained how he received a mission from ‘an old friend’ to free Ur from her seal and kill Deliora who was currently residing on Galuna Island, which is why he freaked out hearing that Gray took a mission there. He then told them how they arrived, how they found the demon and convinced Lyon to allow him to free his teacher, how the fight went, and finally the conclusion with Deliora’s death and Ur’s order to Lyon for him to find somewhere to reevaluate his goals and decisions.  
As his story finished, there was a long moment of silence, where the only noise was from Porlyusica who was running various tests and things on Ur who was paying more attention to Natsu than anything else. Mira walked over and knocked him on the head before hugging him again.  
“You need to be more careful, Natsu,” she said softly.  
“You need to stop hitting me on the head,” Natsu teased. “And no stuck-up demon is enough to kill me!”  
“Well, that certainly is a lot of information to process,” Makarov said, thinking deeply. “And you’re certain that Deliora is dead?”  
“Positive. I’m quite surprised a corpse remained,” Natsu replied. “I wish you could’ve come, Jane. You would’ve gotten a new satan soul.”  
“From what you described I doubt that I was strong enough to control it anyway,” Mira sighed, releasing her imprisoned dragon slayer.  
“What, no hug for me?” Ur piped up.  
“I’ve carried you around for two days, you’ve gotten plenty of contact,” Natsu sighed back. “But anyway, that’s not the real information here. Ur...this is a very personal question I need to ask you.”  
“No I’m not a virgin,” she replied. Makarov started coughing, and Gray and Mira blushed fiercely.  
“THAT IS NOT WHAT I WAS IMPLYING!” Natsu shouted, also blushing. “I want you to tell me about your daughter.”  
“How do you know I have a daughter?” she whispered in shock.   
“I’ll answer your question after you answer mine. You’ll just have to trust me on this.”  
“Ok…” Ur told the story of how she had her daughter years ago with her loving husband, who passed away before she was born. How she named her daughter Ultear for her tears that she wept at having a new light in her life, but sadly, her daughter had a serious excess of magic forcing her to go to the Bureau of Magical Development for help. “After a few years, they told me they had a cure...but when I went back for her...they told me she’d died…”  
Ur was now sitting up leaning against Gray, crying slightly, who’d gone over to console his master, knowing how difficult a topic it was for her to talk about. “Why’d you make her go through that again, Natsu?” Gray asked him. His seriousness was conveyed both in his tone and the fact that he didn’t use an insult, addressing the fire mage by his actual name.  
“Because I needed to hear the story from you. Ur,” he stated very seriously and stared back into her eyes. “Your daughter is very much alive.”  
The silence that overtook the room was thick, the only sound was that of the beating hearts pounding away in the chests of the mages who were holding their breaths.   
“What…?” Ur whispered.  
“Ultear Milkovich is alive. She is the one who contracted me to free you from Iced Shell,” Natsu explained. “Unfortunately, I don’t have much other good news for you other than that about her. I’ve done all I can to bring her back, but the reason I was willing to risk my life to free you and Deliora, was because you are the only one who can do that.”  
“What do you mean by 'bring her back,' lizard breath?” Gray snapped. “You just told us she was alive, and now you’re saying she isn’t?”  
“She is alive...however...she is currently walking a path of darkness. When I met her long ago, she was losing herself. The best I was able to do is start inching her closer to the light. Ultear Milkovich works for the council as a cover for her primary job, which is the leader of the Seven Kin of Purgatory for Grimoire Heart. I’m not sure if they were around during your time, Ur, but it is one of the most powerful dark guilds in Ishgar.”  
Ur cried harder, a mix of joy that her daughter was alive and utter horror that her daughter was working for such a dark guild.  
“Child, why didn’t you tell me about this?” Makarov asked while Mira was still in shock.  
“Ultear is a friend of mine...I met her about five years ago...”

[Flashback - X780 (Ultear’s Perspective)]

Ultear was on a job for master Hades. It was fairly simple really, meet up with one of his sub guilds to collect payment. Very rarely did any of the Seven Kin actually go on jobs like this, however, this was a personal favor for Hades. This place had been rubbing Hades the wrong way for some time, and he was hoping that a bit of a scare tactic would get them back in line. While by all means vicious and ruthless, Hades was by no means an idiot. If he destroyed a sub guild every time they did something he didn’t like, he would run out of them rather quickly, so he kept them in line through intimidation. Sometimes, he’d kill one or two of the members, other times he’d have his guards threaten them, and other times...he just let Ultear do her thing.  
She was approaching the guild, a well-hidden building containing the members of the guild Ember Fang, when a loud explosion rang out and the ground trembled slightly. Ultear found a place to hide momentarily so she would be able to get some information before anything could go wrong. She stayed there for a moment before a cloaked figure emerged from the guild. He was rather short, she supposed, but that’s all she could tell from him. His entire person was covered and she had no idea who he was or what he was doing. So, as a member of the Seven Kin of Purgatory, she stepped out to meet him head-on.  
“Who are you and what are you doing here? Are you a member of Ember Fang?” Ultear demanded, glaring at him suspiciously.  
“I thought I missed one, but I don’t sense nearly as much malice from you as I did from those inside. You aren’t from here are you?” the figure asked inquisitively. He seemed rather interested in who it was that approached him, and why they seemed so set on attempting intimidation.  
“Hmph! You must be mistaken! I’m a member of the Seven Kin of Purgatory from Grimoire Heart! Now, before I end your life, mind telling me why you’re here?”  
“How strange…” the figure replied thoughtfully. “For someone to be so lost and so confident all at once. I took a job to destroy the place, and I have completed such a job. Though you are a member of Grimoire, I see no reason to fight with you, so if-” he was interrupted by a crystal ball flying past his skull.  
“Lost? Who are you calling lost? Pity you have no desire to fight, but I suppose such a thing comes from staring at the last person you’ll ever see!”  
“Your eyes…” he said, staring at her while easily dodging her various attacks. “They’re just like mine...Lost and alone…”  
“I’m not alone! What are you even talking about?!” Ultear continued to command her army of orbs, sending them flying around him, yet each one he dodged with ease.  
“Very well...I shall fight you if only to see your eyes once more...Fire Dragon’s Iron FIST!” the figure shouted, shattering several crystals in one shot.  
‘What power!’ Ultear’s eyes widened. “You’ll have to do far better than that!” and she snapped her fingers, smirking as the orbs reformed themselves before his very eyes.  
“Fire Dragon’s BLAST WAVE!” he called out, scorching the ground beneath him and destroying all the orbs. Before she could reform them, he charged at her, kneeing her in the stomach and elbowing the back of her head until she fell to the ground. Natsu placed a foot on her back to keep her in place and spoke again. “I simply wish to speak with you, can we finish this farce for now?”  
“You want to SPEAK? You completely DESTROYED the guild I was supposed to collect from! If you want to live, you’d better kill me now, because if I make it out of here alive you’ll-” Ultear was interrupted by the figure as he tossed a small pouch in front of her face and removed his foot.  
“There. I’m sure that will cover it.” Ultear looked inside the bag which was filled with jewels, there looked to be around half a million inside.  
“Why are you-?”  
“Your eyes. When I look at you, I see my eyes in you. They are the eyes of something being taken in front of you, the eyes of feeling lost, lonely, and helpless, the eyes of losing yourself in something that is wrong but convincing yourself it’s right. They are the eyes that I have within me.”  
Ultear’s eyes widened, shocked at his words as she got up to a sitting position, and he sat down against a tree across from her and removed his hood. He looked no older than her, possibly a bit younger even, and had a vertical scar over each eye. His hair was very peculiar, a brilliant white on the right side and pink on the left, and he wore a pair of silver earrings with a black scale dangling from each side. Looking closer at him, she saw what he meant. His eyes were the same eyes that she looked at in the mirror every day, not that she would ever admit to it.  
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. How could you possibly know anything about me?”  
“I can’t, so why don’t I tell you my story and you can tell me yours?”  
“I don’t want to hear your sob story. If you want sympathy, find some other sucker. I don’t know why I’m even still talking to you!”  
The man chuckled and smiled slightly at her. “It’s because you know in your heart that what I’m saying is true. My father used to tell me that the heart is a thing that defies all logic and reasoning, but sometimes you need to ignore what you know, and listen to it…”  
The man shared his story of loss to her, how the parents who took him in were killed in front of him and how the village he moved to was destroyed again, and how he became a bounty hunter to avenge his parents’ killer. Ultear told him her story, of how her mother abandoned her and found better children. How she’d killed her tormentors and wandered until she was taken under the wing by the master of Grimoire Heart.  
“Have you ever spoken to your mother since then?”  
“That wench is dead…” Ultear grumbled.   
“I see. Perhaps she never abandoned you, perhaps she thought you had died. I am familiar with the Bureau of Magical Development, and it was run by a despicable man known as Brain. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he just told a lie in order to-”  
“Nonsense!” Ultear snapped. “My mother was a horrible, despicable woman who abandoned me for better! I saw it with my own eyes!”  
“Did you see her, or did you see her eyes?”  
“What’s with your obsession with eyes? And of course I saw her eyes!”  
The man chuckled again and explained. “Many people’s eyes hold a story, and if you can read the story, you can understand them. Those who are losing themselves, their eyes speak the loudest. Those who are lost cannot be read. That is how I know you aren’t lost, that you can find your way back again.”  
“I’m not lost and I’m not losing myself either! What are you on about?!”  
“Perhaps in time, you shall understand. I must be going. Until we meet again-?”  
“Why should I give you my name? At least give me yours first,” Ultear snapped.   
The man donned his hood once again and stood. “Natsu, my name is Natsu Drakeneel.”  
As he began to walk away, Ultear called out to him. “My name is Ultear...Ultear Milkovich…”  
“Goodbye, Ulty...I’m sure we’ll meet again someday.”  
“ULTY? HEY, WHAT ARE YOU-(sigh)” Ultear shook her head and investigated the guild. Sure enough, it was destroyed. Most of the members were alive, but the structure was on the verge of collapse and everyone was unconscious. However, she couldn’t get out of her head what he had told her. It was so distracting that she almost didn’t notice a very peculiar mark at the entrance…

[Flashback End]

“We’ve run into each other several times since, each time by pure coincidence. Sometimes I’d be leaving a job, sometimes I’d be going to a job, and once she joined me and Happy for lunch,” Natsu explained. “My point is, that I believed, and always have believed, that she can be saved. Because you, Ur, did not abandon her, and she needs to hear this from you. You are the one that can bring her to the light and save her from herself, which is exactly why I agreed to her job.”  
“I’m such a failure as a mother…” Ur muttered. “I never should have believed them...I could have demanded to see her...and this never would have happened.”  
‘I can’t believe she’s been alive all this time,’ Gray thought to himself, holding his master while she cried. Somehow the shock of the story overtook the fact that Natsu was working as a bounty hunter before Fairy Tail, and he didn't even process the information until much later. ‘Every night, she cried. She held a shirt to her face and cried as she remembered her daughter. Every single night…’  
“It’s not your fault, my dear,” Makarov said. “Both you and your daughter were going through a tragic experience, you with her supposed death, and her with the undoubted torture of the experiments performed on her and the fact that her mother had been missing from her life for so long. In the face of tragedy, we humans make rash and unwise decisions, and it is from these decisions that mistakes are made. You made the mistake of accepting the lies of a greedy organization, and she made the mistake of believing you could possibly abandon someone you loved with all your heart. But from mistakes is where forgiveness lies. That is why we give second chances.”  
The group smiled fondly at Makarov’s speech, Natsu immediately reminded of Igneel’s wisdom and teachings while Gray reminisced about his time with his beloved teacher.  
“Alright, brats, it’s time to go,” Porlyusica told them reentering the room. “I’ll be keeping Ur here overnight, so you can come visit her tomorrow. I should be able to get a functioning leg within a week or two.”  
“Thanks for this Porlyusica, it means a lot,” Natsu told her, and she just huffed. “Ur, would you like to stay at Fairy Hills? It’s the girls’ dormitory for Fairy Tail, though I don’t know much more about it than that. Laki Olietta is good friends with the owner, so you can talk to her about it if you’re interested.”  
“Is this your way of telling me I can’t stay with you?” Ur teased.  
“Well, not originally, but sure, we’ll go with that. I’ll find Laki and tell her you’re interested and I'll pay for your first month. After that, you're on your own."  
“How chivalrous of you,” Ur cooed. “And I’m sure you’d be interested in helping me test out the-”  
“Ok, that’s enough of that!” Mira interrupted, grabbing Natsu’s hand and walking out. “Hope you get well soon, Ur, and thanks for your help Porlyusica,” she told them, before dragging Natsu out. Everyone else just chuckled, and Porlyusica left to grumble about irritating humans and their loudness.  
“What was that about, Jane?” Natsu asked, faking shock. “It’s almost as if you didn’t want me to join her at Fairy Hills.”  
“YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED!” she shouted. “In Fairy Hills! I mean, boys can’t go into Fairy Hills!”  
“Hmmm...if that’s what you say, Jane…” Natsu replied, while Makarov and Gray just snickered. “So, have you picked out our mission?”  
“Actually, I did!” Mira replied, happy to have the subject changed. “A Khmer dragon has been terrorizing a town’s farmland and livestock, so I figured, what better to kill a dragon than with a dragon slayer!”  
“A DRAGON?” Gray shouted.  
“WHEN DID THAT GET IN?” Makarov yelled.  
“It’s not an actual dragon,” Natsu explained. “It’s a Khmer dragon, a type of dragonkin. However, they are just as rare as dragons and can speak draconic fluently. Even salamanders, which are some of the strongest dragonkin alongside wyverns, can only really growl, roar, and yip. I’ve never even seen a Khmer dragon before.”  
“You didn’t see it because I claimed it when it first came in a few days ago, Master!” Mira replied happily. “Natsu promised a mission, and this one is perfect.”  
“Sounds great, Jane. Should we leave tomorrow? It’s getting rather late.”  
“Sounds good to me!” she chirped back.  
“I hate to interrupt your flirting session, but how are you such good friends with Porlyusica, Natsu? I’ve known her for years and she rarely calls me by my name,” Makarov asked.  
“Well, Porlyusica hates humans, and I’m only part human. I also buy most of her materials for her, and have gone on a few runs for special herbs and things,” Natsu explained.  
“Why would you do that, smoggy lung?” Gray taunted.  
“Well first, that was the worst insult you’ve had yet. My fire doesn’t give off smoke or smog. That’s rather strange, don’t you think? When things are lit on fire, even if it’s something I’ve lit on fire, it releases smoke, however, my fire releases nothing at all. Perhaps it involves-”  
“Just answer the question, flame brain,” Gray sighed,  
“Right...sorry...and I’d been getting so much better at that too. Anyway, because before I got here, she saved my life. After I joined, I stopped by once a month asking if there was anything I could do to repay her, and after about six visits she just caved and gave me lists of things to buy or find.”  
The group continued back to the guildhall, where they spent most of the evening partying. Natsu recollected his tale to Lisanna and Levy, the latter of which was extremely interested in his new royal dragon force developments, spoke with Laki about Ur and Fairy Hills, giving her 100,000 jewels to his supreme displeasure at how pricy only one month was, and chatted with Lucy about her new place. He even found time to write a bit in his journal before going home. After about an hour, he decided he’d had enough socializing for one day and returned to his house of trophies  
The next morning was a rather ordinary day at Fairy Tail. The sun was shining, Lisanna was working the bar and welcoming the members, Cana was begging for alcohol, and Erza was muttering about how that ‘conniving wench’ was ‘stealing away Natsu with her evil schemes.’ Ok...it was mostly normal. Regardless, it was a rather pleasant day when a particularly nosy guild member just so happened to make a discovery.   
“Hey, what’s this?” she inquired, inspecting the new object.  
“What’s what, Cana?” Lisanna asked, approaching the shockingly sober brunette.  
“It looks like a book of some sort. A notebook maybe? I don’t know, I can’t tell…”  
“I’m not sure, maybe it belongs to someone here?” she inquired.  
“I’ll bet it’s full of juicy secrets…” Cana said, smirking evilly.  
“Cana...you shouldn’t go snooping in other people’s business. There could be private information in there!” Lisanna scolded.   
“That’s the point!” Cana happily replied.  
“Canaaa~!”  
“What’s got you two so worked up this morning, hmm?” Mirajane asked, approaching the duo.  
“Why are you here, harlot? I thought you were busy corrupting Natsu with your filth…” Erza grumbled approaching the now sizable group.  
“Sounds like someone here is a little jealous,” Mira teased.  
“Oh, I almost forgot!” Lisanna squealed. “You have your first date today, Mira! Are you excited?”  
“Wh-what are you t-talking about?” she stuttered back. “It-it’s not a date-we’re just going on a mission! And it’s later today!”  
“A hot, steamy, romantic, mission for two, huh?” Cana drawled. Somehow, she sounded and acted the same drunk and sober; years of practice one must suppose… “Just be careful you two, we don’t need any more guild members around here!”  
“CANA!” Mira squeaked.  
Cana and Lisanna laughed while Erza glared and continued to grumble to herself. If this had been two years ago, the two would have been having a fearsome duel already, but since Natsu’s temporary absence, they developed somewhat of a friendship, so they were able to restrain themselves frequently.   
“Oh, relax, big sis! We’re just teasing!”   
“Right…” Mira replied, calming her raging blush. “So what were you two talking about?”  
“Oh, Cana just found this, and we were wondering what it was.” Lisanna showed her sister Cana’s discovery. It appeared to be a journal, larger than a notepad but smaller than a book. The outside was black leather, the pages not visible at all behind its casing. Holding it closed was a thin black string that was attached from the back, went around twice, and wound in on itself back at the front. On the cover, there was an intricate design of two dragons. One was white on a black background and had a small white flame emitted from its mouth and the other was black on a white background with a small black flame from its mouth. The two were in a circular formation, reminiscent of the yin-yang symbol. In addition, there were eight stamps, four on the front and four on the back. On the bottom left and top right of both sides were intricate red flame designs, and on the bottom right and top left were white crowns.  
Mira’s eyes widened at seeing the journal. “Where did you get that and why do you have it?!”  
“Do you know what it is, big sis?” Lisanna questioned. Erza turned over to investigate as well, and she seemed to have the same reaction as Mira.  
“That’s Natsu’s journal! Why is it here?! Explain yourself, Cana!” Erza demanded.  
“Easy there, red,” Cana replied. “Found it here when I got here. But this makes it all the better, I definitely gotta read it now!”  
“You can’t do that!” Mira exclaimed. “Imagine what he would do to you if he found out!”  
“For once the demon is right,” Erza agreed.  
“Aww, come on! You two aren’t the least bit curious to know what your little dragon writes about?” Cana teased.   
“I don’t know about this, Cana…” Lisanna said nervously. “I really don’t think you should invade his privacy like this. It would be wrong to do to anyone, but especially Natsu. He has a hard enough time trusting people as it is.”  
“Psh! I’m sure he’d be fine! What’s the worst we could find in here? Besides, everyone knows that what you leave out in the open is fair game. He should be glad someone in the guild found it!” Cana defended.  
“Cana…” Erza glared.  
“It’s wrong…” Mira added.  
“But what if he wrote about the two of you in there?” Cana asked, returning the glares at the redhead and the demon. “Don’t you wanna know what goes on in that scatterbrain of his?”  
The two paused for a moment and glanced at each other. “Mira, don’t even-” Lisanna started.  
“Open it!” the two demanded.  
“All right! Let’s do this!” Cana declared, chugging down her morning beer.  
Lisanna sighed and decided it wasn’t worth fighting them over. They’d regret it later, but once her sister had her eyes set on something, especially if that something was in any way related to their dragon slayer, there was no convincing her otherwise.   
Cana slowly unwound the string, leaving it dangling from the back of the journal. She found the separation between the aged leather and thumbed it apart, slowly opening it for the dramatic effect of her fellow nosy guildmates to reveal...absolutely nothing. Not a single sheet of paper.   
“WHAT!” Cana whined. “Come on! What’s that all about!”  
Lisanna giggled. “That’s what you get, Cana!”  
Mira and Erza were visibly disappointed for a moment before a hand made its way on both of their shoulders.  
“Looking for something?” the figure asked.   
“U-uh, er-um...you see...we were…” Mira stuttered.  
“N-Natsu! Wh-when did...uh…” Erza added.  
Lisanna started giggling again, and Cana just looked horrified. “I told you not to look, big sis!”  
“I wasn’t going to! It’s just...I mean...I-er…”  
Natsu gripped the two’s shoulders harder and forced them to turn to face him, where his face was shadowed by his wild dual-colored hair.  
“Natsu...I didn’t-I mean...we can talk about this...I’m sorry for invading your privacy, I didn’t…” Mira tried to get out.  
Natsu released his grip on their shoulders and lifted his hands and flicked both of them in the forehead.   
“W-what?” Mira and Erza blushed, touching their foreheads lightly.  
Natsu sighed and rubbed his temples slightly. “You could have just asked me, you know?”  
The two looked at each other and bowed their heads.  
“I’m sorry, Natsu...I was just really curious…” Mira mumbled.  
“Yes...I apologize as well...If you wish, you may strike me again.”  
“Hmmm...I may strike Cana…” Natsu replied thoughtfully, causing the brunette to pale, before pulling the two into a quick hug to whisper in their ears. “Because I just happened to hear the entire conversation. You two caved pretty quickly, huh?”  
After releasing the now horrified duo, he chuckled and took the book back from Cana. Natsu placed his right pointer finger in the center of the book, causing the flame and crown stamps to glow and flicker slightly. After a moment, he dragged the finger in a circle around the center design, causing the dragons to rotate with it. After a moment, he returned his finger to the center, and the slight movement stopped. He handed the book back to Lisanna before turning around. “Hmm...it seems I’ve forgotten something that is somewhere else. I don’t suppose you could look after this for me, could you?”  
Lisanna giggled. “Why certainly! I’ll keep it safe for you!”  
“Ah, thank you! I’ll be back for our mission soon, Jane.”   
Mira blushed again, while Cana and Lisanna giggled and Erza grumbled more about ‘thieving demon women and their evil schemes.’ Natsu, as quickly and quietly as he had arrived, disappeared back out of the guildhall.  
“Well, come on then! Open that sucker up!” Cana demanded. “The guy basically just gave us permission!”  
“Right…” Lisanna opened the book, and this time, there were pages. Hundreds of pages, yet somehow none of them seemed to be too old. “Wow…”

[Natsu’s Journal - April 13th X776]

Isn’t this the coolest! Draco brought back this book for me today! He told me that if I really wanted to write about him and Igneel, then I should practice by writing every single day! That overgrown lizard just wants to be famous, but that’s ok I guess. This journal is so pretty too! He said that he had it specially designed so that I can choose who has access to it and that it will never run out of paper! I can just keep adding more! He finds something like this but can’t find a salamander? I think scaleface is just a lazy gecko! I have to go train though, apparently Igneel is actually gonna teach me some more royal dragon slayer moves! 

“He sounds so goofy!” Mira giggled.   
“He’s like a totally different person! I can hardly believe that’s his writing. Though I must say, even then his penmanship was rather impressive…” Erza commented.  
“Alright, I wanna pick next!” Cana demanded, snatching the journal and flipping to a random page.

[Natsu’s Journal - July 27th X778]

It’s been a week...I can’t believe I’m still alive, but am I really? Happy’s the only one keeping me on earth, otherwise I’d be dead already. Sometimes I wish I had been killed. Then I wouldn’t have to live with this...this pain. It’s unbearable sometimes, the tightness in my chest and the tiredness in my eyes. I focus on what Igneel taught me, he always seemed to know what to say. I would give anything for him to help me through this again. He’d know what I should be doing, and if this is all a mistake. I know Happy says he’s doing ok, but I can see it in his eyes. He needs a new family, but I’m keeping him from having one. Someday I’ll find one for him...I hope…

“Wow…” Lisanna said sadly.  
“What happened to him? It sounds like his best friend died or something…” Cana commented.  
“Well, unfortunately, you aren’t too far off there, Cana…” Mira sighed.  
“I suppose we can tell her...I mean he did leave the journal here…” Erza commented. “From the date on it, it looks like this happened right after his village was attacked.”  
“Wait, what village? I thought he lived with dragons?” Cana questioned.  
“He did, but after they died, he stumbled across an orphanage in Rösch,” Lisanna explained.  
“Exactly. He lived there for about a year, and that’s where he met Happy. Every time he told us a story about his fellow children he would always have a smile on his face,” Erza smiled sadly.  
“One day he went to a river with a bunch of his friends, and when they came back they were under attack by a dark guild. Only he and Happy made it out alive…” Mira finished.  
“Wow...and I thought having his parents killed in front of him was bad. No wonder he’s always so depressed,” Cana commented.  
“He’s not always depressed,” Mira defended lightly. “It’s just very hard for him to open up. I’d guess that he doesn’t want too many people to be too close to him because he thinks that he’ll lose them again.”  
“Shall I pick the next page?” Erza asked.

[Natsu’s Journal - November 19th X780]

I feel like a monster...I can’t eat...I can’t sleep...I can’t even think. They’re all gone, all of them...Well, one lived I guess...I can count that as good, right? I don’t even know why I keep writing in this anymore...Maybe it’s the only thing other than Happy that keeps me here…

“This was a few months before he joined, right?” Lisanna asked nervously.  
“I guess so, but even I don’t know what this one's about,” Mira replied glumly.   
“Neither do I. I thought he wandered around after the orphanage. Who do you think he was talking about?” Erza questioned.  
“Who knows, but this dude’s got one more chance for something juicy! Pity the man later, and keep digging!” Cana declared.  
“You should really be more sensitive, Cana!” Lisanna scolded.  
Mira sighed and shook her head, but took her turn choosing a page. 

[Natsu’s Journal - February 14th X 782]

I’ve learned of a rather peculiar human holiday today called Valentine’s Day. Strange really, I never did understand human customs. Especially relationships; dragons have always done it better. However, much about the writer that I am, I am a fan of the...poetic...aspect of this human holiday. Most of them are fairly...unappealing...to say the least, but at least the prospect is there. I’ve always admired Charles Bukowski and others like him. Regardless, I thought it appropriate to write my own for today’s entry. This one came to me fairly recently, and I feel it represents me rather well.

Burning Dreams Are Beautiful  
Tainted black, in sultry form  
Singing edges, flame adorned  
Leaning, longing, destitute  
Freedoms falling, absolute  
Dreaming empty, wanting more  
Changing visions, start to roar  
Seeing now, what once I missed  
Blazes waited, fringes kissed  
Flames and fire, start to sing  
Open hearts, arrive my king  
Don’t fear flames, their shackles dull  
Burning dreams are beautiful

“He’s a poet?!” Cana shouted.  
“I think it’s kinda cute,” Lisanna giggled. “Right, Mira~?”  
“It is pretty good, I guess…” Mira mumbled.  
“I remember that Valentine’s Day! You spent all day trying to come up with something to get for him, and when you gave it to him he didn’t understand why you were giving him a present!” Lisanna teased. “You had to explain-”  
“Lisanna!” Mira squeaked.  
“Let’s not forget what Erza here did…” Cana drawled. “Our innocent little knight here got some new reading material after-”  
“Cana, if you finish that sentence you won’t be able to drink for a week…” Erza threatened.  
Lisanna and Mira giggled, before suggesting they try and find another entry.  
They each got one more turn around, though nothing else was too interesting. Cana managed to find a page where Natsu wrote that he rather enjoyed the company of both Erza and Mira, even though they could exhaust him at times, and Lisanna found a page where Natsu complained about how he was expected to remember the date of birth of people because of ‘some strange human custom called birthdays.’ That got a good laugh from the four before Natsu managed to make another silent entry.  
“Enjoy my book?” he asked quietly, directly in the ear of Mira.  
“EEEK!” she squeaked, jumping up. “Natsu! Stop sneaking up on me like that!”  
Natsu chuckled and ruffled her hair while she weakly hit his chest a few times. “Aw, but you’re so cute when you get all embarrassed like that! Now, I thought we had a mission to go on?”  
Mira blushed harder and nodded her head before giving the book back to him.  
“A poet, eh?” Cana teased.   
“I find they allow words to be stitched together in ways we never think of,” Natsu explained, casually resealing his book. “Think about it like this; one can only explain something so well to another. If we leave it up for someone to interpret, they may understand better than if we told them ourselves.”  
“I’ll never understand you, big guy, but write me a good poem about wine or whisky and I’ll be first in line to read it!” Cana drawled.  
“I thought it was pretty good!” Lisanna told him. “You have any more?”  
“Thanks, but I’ll have to show you another time. Ready to go, Jane?” he asked.  
“All set!” she replied.  
Natsu pocketed the book and put a hand on Erza’s shoulder. “Keep an eye on the guild while I’m gone, ok?”  
“Of course!” she declared.  
Natsu chuckled. “Maybe you can pass the time by giving Gray some punishment?”  
Erza grinned evilly and rubbed her hands together. ‘Scary!’ the rest of the group thought.  
Natsu just chuckled again. “Never change, Erza...Don’t give Happy too many fish, ya’ hear!” With that, he and Mira left the guild off on their da-I mean mission.  
“He liiiiikes you!” Happy droned entering the guild after Natsu had left.  
“Damn you, feline!” Erza roared, while Lisanna and Cana just looked at each other and broke out into another fit of giggles.


	21. The Twenty-First

So they set off, the dragon and the demon, to take on their first mission together in over a year. Needless to say, Mira was very excited, and while Natsu was more than pleased to spend more time with the white-haired mage, he was rather...displeased...with their required use of transportation.  
"Are you sure it's absolutely necessary?" Natsu questioned with a sigh.  
"Yes, as I told you the first three times. It's a four-hour train ride and no we can't walk. I'm beginning to think you don't want to spend time with me," Mira told him, faking tears in her eyes.  
"Wait, hold on a moment!" Natsu panicked. "Of course I want to spend-wait a minute...you were just messing with me, weren't you?"  
"I may have been stretching the truth," she told him as she sauntered off to buy the tickets.  
Natsu sighed and rubbed his temples, mumbling something about confusing white-haired demons. Regardless of his less than enthusiastic nature about the upcoming train ride, the two got their tickets and set off, with Natsu collapsing into a slumber on Mira's lap and the white-haired barmaid smiling softly to the rumbling breaths of the cloaked figure.  
Meanwhile - Elsewhere  
"Look! Look at this!" a young girl exclaimed, running over to her closest friend and motheresque-figure.  
"Calm down, child! What is it?" she huffed in response.  
"It's all over the magazines and newspapers! Everyone in Hargeon heard a massive roar just a few days ago! It could have been a dragon!"  
"Child, you've been chasing after every possibility of dragon sightings since you could read. I just hate to see you disappointed."  
"I know that, but I have a really good feeling about this one! We can get there in a few days, so we should start getting ready!"  
"Very well child," she sighed, rubbing her tired eyes. "Just please don't get too excite-and she's gone…"

[Fairy Tail Guildhall]

'I'm finally here,' thought a young woman, standing in front of the home of the fairies. She was a young woman, probably about sixteen or seventeen years old, with long green hair. She was fairly short for her age, only around 5'6" or 5'7". Her eyes sparkled like emeralds in the late-morning sun, and she wore a simple outfit of a knee-length skirt and a button-up shirt. 'Please be here...big brother…'  
Having readied herself enough over the long journey, and the five minutes she spent staring at the door, she finally decided to open the doors, only to have a bottle smash right next to her.  
"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!" she shrieked, ducking and covering her head. "Please don't hurt me!"  
"CEASE YOUR RAMPAGING, HOOLIGANS!" Erza roared, instantly stopping the brawl that was underway. "You should be ashamed of yourselves! Scaring-"  
As Erza ranted, Lisanna approached the now terrified green-haired girl who was cowering in fear by the door. "Hi, there! Sorry about that, things can get pretty hectic around here!"  
"Um...ok…" she answered nervously, slowly standing back up.  
"Now, what can we do for you?" Lisanna chirped.  
"I'm looking for someone, and I think that he might be here," the woman answered.  
"Ok, well why don't you come with me and we can talk to the master. I'm Lisanna, what's your name?"  
"My name's Treya," she replied, following the white-haired barmaid.  
'Why does that sound so familiar…' Lisanna wondered to herself, as she led the new girl to the master. "Master, this girl is looking for someone and said that she thinks they're here."  
"Ah, what can I do for you, pretty lady!" Master replied, drunkenly. "If you're here to join the guild you have to pass my test first!" he giggled perversely, twiddling his fingers together with a naughty glint in his eyes.  
"Master! Stop perving on our guests!" Lisanna scolded.  
"W-what?" she asked nervously.  
"Pay him no mind, he's just an old pervert," the barmaid sighed. "Just ask away."  
"R-right...I was actually looking for someone named Salamander…"  
The remnants of the once brawling guild members ceased their talking immediately to gaze over at this new stranger.  
"Hmmm…" Makarov stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Well now, most people trying to get a look at him resort to other tactics. If it weren't for his nose, he would be known throughout Fiore by now. So tell me, why is it that you wish to see our Salamander?"  
"I think I knew him a long time ago…Is his name Natsu Drakeneel?" The guild gasped, no one outside their guild knew his name.  
"Well now, that certainly is interesting," Makarov started. "I have one final question for you young lady. Where did you two meet?"  
"It was a long time ago, in a little town called Rösch…"

[Back With Mira and Natsu]

"Wake up, Natsu," Mira called, shaking the drowsy slayer.  
"Mmmm, Jane…" he mumbled.  
Mira giggled again. "Time to get up, Natsu!"  
"Dragon...fire…"  
"Well, you asked for it," Mira sighed. She reached into his hood and pressed firmly into the skin right below his ear. Natsu shot awake with a loud moan.  
"What the hell, Jane? How did you even-"  
"Levy told me…" she said with a slight blush. "Now come on, let's get a move on."  
"Hey, hold on a second! How did Levy find out about that?!"  
The two were walking side by side, but Natsu was very insistent on getting his information.  
"What exactly did Levy tell you?"  
"Why are you so concerned about this? Levy told me that during long periods of rest for dragons, their mate or children would press on a nerve below the ear to wake them from their slumber," Mira explained. "She said it might work to get you up on trains rather than throwing you on the ground."  
"Damn you, Levy…" Natsu sighed. "That's not at all what that is…"  
"What is it?" she questioned curiously. Natsu blushed fiercely and fidgeted with his fingers for a moment. "Oh come on, it can't be that bad!" He sighed again and whispered something in her ear. Her eyes grew extremely wide and her face grew to resemble a certain fairy's hair. "Oh, my…"  
"Yeah…so if you could-"  
"Right...sorry...I didn't-"  
"Yeah, it's…"  
So they continued to the mayor's office in their newfound awkward silence, both very determined to get their revenge on the petite bluenette for her scheming ways. The job the mayor gave them was relatively straightforward. There was a wild beast that had been identified by a local scholar as a Khmer dragon, and no one really knew how to deal with it. While it wasn't directly killing anyone, it was decimating livestock and crops, and no one really wanted such a powerful species to come back in force, so they were asked to get rid of it in any way possible.  
Khmer dragons looked a bit more like snakes than dragons, with long, scaly bodies, decorative head crests made of thick scales, and spiny dorsal apparatuses on their backs. In addition, they controlled the element of earth and had extremely sharp fangs. The most fearsome thing about a Khmer dragon, however, is their intelligence. They begin to speak draconic at an extremely young age, which is a relatively advanced language. Almost no other dragonkin can speak past growls, grunts, and yips. No one really knows how they died out. Perhaps they simply weren't up to par with dragons, but were too advanced to be ignored like the salamanders and wyverns were. Perhaps they died out during the Second War of the Ethereals.  
Regardless, they left the mayor's office, the path led by our mysterious Salamander himself, followed closely by the resident demon.  
"You speak draconic, right?" Mira asked him.  
"Si shilta, axun," Natsu replied.  
"I'll take that as a yes…" she deadpanned.  
"It's a fun language, maybe I'll teach you sometime. It may come in handy for translation jobs I guess...though other than pure interest humans really have no reason to learn."  
"How come you need to know it? Don't dragons speak the common tongue?"  
"They do, however, there are a lot of dragon rituals and customs that use the draconic language, in addition to some of the ancient spells passed down through royalty by the Dragon of Old himself."  
"Who's the Dragon of Old?"  
"Well, why don't we get something to eat and find a room for the two of us, and I'll tell you then? It's a rather long story."  
"Sounds good!"  
So that's what they did. The two stopped at a local restaurant and got themselves a room at the inn before heading up rather early to chat. Ordinarily, they'd begin the mission immediately, but they decided to wait till tomorrow for a few reasons. One being it was sort of an awkward time, seemingly too early to wait till tomorrow but definitely too late to start a mission of this caliber, and two being they hadn't really had any time to each other since Natsu's departure.  
"So, the Dragon of Old?" Mira questioned, sitting down next to Natsu on his bed.  
"Ah yes! So I'm sure you've heard the legend of the Council of Myth…" Natsu began. "Long, long, ago in the times of old, there existed but two lands; Heaven and Hell. Upon the creation of all things by the Council of Myth, did the third come to be as a border world between the legendary realms of Heaven and Hell. Earthland was a neutral ground, owned and occupied by none. However, this all changed when the Council of Myth decided to begin filling the realm with beings…"  
"The Council of Myth? I think I've heard of it, but I really don't remember."  
"The Council of Myth is and isn't all things. Its origins unknown to all, including their own members. They are the creators and the created, the life-bringers and the harbingers of death, the free and the caged. It is within their power to create and destroy as they see fit, and so that is what they have done. Presently, there is said to be nine members, their order and ranking in as follows; The Devil King, The Goddess of Heaven, The Angel of Light, The Demon Queen, The Baron of Beasts, The Valkyrie of War, The Fairy Princess, The Duchess of Fallen, and finally, The Dragon of Old."  
"Ok...I think I understand...this is all very confusing."  
"It can be I suppose."  
"Do fairies have tails?"  
"I'm sorry, what?" Natsu asked, bewildered.   
"Do fairies have tails? You know, the reason for our guild name?"  
"I didn't realize that was the reason..."  
"You never thought to ask? You're always asking questions, I figured that would've been one of your first! Anyways, yeah! Do fairies have tails? Do they even exist? Well, according to you, that part is answered. So do you know if they have tails?"  
"I see...and actually, I do know."  
"Really?"  
"Yes, but it wouldn't be any fun if I told you now would it?"  
"Pleaaase," Mira begged. "I won't tell anyone! I swear!"  
"I don't think so, Jane," Natsu responded thoughtfully. "I can't ruin your reason for being in Fairy Tail...Maybe someday I'll ask Makarov to make it a legacy for guild masters, ya' know? A good incentive to shoot for the spot."  
"Are you going to be our guild master? I think I'd like that," Mira told him, nudging his shoulder. "You'd be great."  
"Honestly, I can't say I'd be all that opposed in the future..." Natsu mused. "Anyway, should I get back to the story?"  
"I still want to know if fairies have tails..." she grumbled. "But I guess you can continue, but you owe me. Big time. Got it?"  
"Yeah, yeah... So anyway, they established Heaven as a land of tranquility, softness, and shine. A land filled with angels, gods, valkyries, and faires. They established Hell as a land of dark, realism, and power. A land filled with demons, devils, beasts, and fallen. One may see one place as superior or preferable to the other, but the Council of Myth made the two realms to inhabit their own beings' preferences. It was during this time that life was rather tranquil; the only interaction between the nine beings at the Council of Myth. Each realm held their own beings under their own laws."  
"What do you mean one isn't preferable? Heaven sounds way better to me! And I thought that when you died, you would go to heaven if you were a good person and if you were an evil person you went to hell. Wouldn't that make one inherently better than the other?"  
"It is rather difficult to explain...I shall attempt to make a comparison. Would you enjoy living in the ocean?"  
"Uh...sorry?"  
"The ocean. Would you like to live in the ocean?"  
"No, I think I would die...What are you getting at?"  
"There are many creatures of the sea that would say the same thing, assuming they could speak the common tongue, about living on land as you do. One is not inherently better than the other, it simply depends on what you are."  
"Ok, but I'm not any of the things that you said are from heaven. If anything, I'm more demon than angel, but I still prefer heaven."  
"I'm afraid I can't answer that, nor can I answer what happens after death. For dragons, it is said that we become the stars. Each and every star was once a dragon or a dragonkin, or so we believe."  
"That's beautiful!"  
"Isn't it? Anyhow, back to the story. For thousands upon thousands of years, this continued, until one day when a young devil met an angel. Intruders on the Council of Myth were unheard of, it was an ethereal plane whose existence could not be described in words understood by mortals. It both existed and didn't exist at the same time. However, as mighty as the beings of the Council were, fate was much superior in all things."  
"Wait, hold on. Fare is a thing? Or a being? I really don't understand all this vague terminology you're using…How can something exist without existing?"  
"Apologies, I'll try to explain. We as mortal beings cannot fathom what it is like to not exist, so it is extremely hard for us to describe it. If we imagine nothingness, we fail because our view of nothingness is something. Nothingness is the lack of something, so if we imagine something as nothingness, that is no longer nothingness because it is something. The same applies here. The Council is a place that should be unreachable, and it shouldn't exist yet it does. Somehow, the universe began as true nothingness, and then somehow that we could never begin to understand, there was a council who knew what to do, but not how they got there. Or maybe they do, but couldn't describe it to us. Honestly-"  
"Natsu…"  
"Yes, Jane?"  
"Just…" Mira sighed and rubbed her forehead thinking about why she fell for this guy of all people. "Just get back to the story…"  
"Right...anyway… It just so happened that on their meeting that day, a young male devil was feeling rather lonesome, so he followed his father, the Devil King, who would disappear once a year. No one ever knew where he went, just that he would disappear for one week every year. Much the curious fellow, he followed his father and ended up there at the Council of Myth. Peculiarly enough, that same day, in the realm of the Heavens, resided a young goddess. She too was feeling lonely, and followed her mother, The Goddess of Heaven, to where she disappeared once a year. She always claimed she was visiting a friend on the far side of heaven, but it made the young angel especially curious. So, after following her mother, she somehow ended up here at the Council of Myth."  
"Is this a love story? How cute~!" Mira squealed.  
"I almost forgot about your matchmaker side…" Natsu chuckled.  
"I have no idea what you're talking about!" Mira huffed, to which Natsu just rolled his eyes and continued.  
"Perhaps they were used to such secrecy that they saw no need for security or the need to be on guard, or perhaps eventually the saying 'with age comes wisdom' ceases to be true, but no one noticed the two younguns. Except of course, for each other. Neither had seen someone so special before. The goddess was gorgeous, with pure white skin, a dazzling white dress, and long blonde hair. The devil was, pun intended, devilishly handsome. He had spiky black hair, wore an open vest exposing his muscled chest and arms, and his eyes held a gentle fierceness that was breathtaking. As was such in a fairy tale, the two fell in love with each other immediately, however, they quickly discovered an issue. That issue was that they were discovered by the other council members, their lives only spared due to their relation to the most powerful and influential of the council members. However, neither being was satisfied with only having their life spared. And so, they each protested to the respective leaders of their lands, begging and pleading to see each other once more. The Devil King was obviously enraged, punishing his son severely for trespassing on such ancient lands, and making such foolish requests. It took the entire year, accepting any and all tasks and punishments, until his unrelenting will bent the unbendable Devil King, allowing him to once again see his love. The Angel of Light was much softer with her daughter, and eventually allowed the two to meet at the next meeting."  
"Forbidden love! HOW ROMANTIC!" Mira gushed.  
"So they continued, each year the two would meet at the Council of Myth and spend time with each other, a forbidden love and a forbidden interaction, frowned upon by all other members. However, the Angel of Light was glad her daughter was happy, and the Devil King was satisfied that his brat was listening to his every word without question or hesitation. This is the most common belief for the reasoning behind one of the council's biggest ever decisions. It is unclear who the suggestion was made by. Perhaps it was the merciful Goddess of Heaven, the strongest of the beings of light. Perhaps it was the Duchess of Fallen, wisest of the beings of dark. Maybe it was a unanimous decision, thirsting for freedom or power. Regardless of whose idea it was, and when it happened, the council decided it was necessary to create a new land. Thus led to the creation of Earthland. They filled it with oceans, lakes, grasslands, forests, and deserts. They set unbreakable laws to the land that defined all things, and they gifted the land with endless magic. This was a buffer land, empty of all beings, only existing to serve as a meeting place for the two lands."  
"This is the best news I've ever heard!" Mira squealed. "Earthland exists because of a love story! How do people not know about this?"  
"Probably because most of this is knowledge passed down from dragon royalty and spread among their family. I.e if you don't consider them a family member, you can't tell them any of this. Anyway, back to the story. None were happier than the young devil and his goddess, the two spent nearly all their time on Earthland, reveling in their company. Sadly, all good things must come to an end, and they eventually did. The clash between the creatures of light and dark began quickly, conflicts initiated by both sides due to the differences in their beliefs. It is important to remember, however, that neither was in the right nor the wrong in this instance. With all things comes light and with light comes darkness. It is simply a fact decided by existence, far out of the reach of even the Council of Myth. The creatures of darkness have their belief and are correct in the same way that the creatures of light hold their beliefs. Yet, conflict is conflict, and conflict would rage."  
"I hope the lovers are ok…"  
"Actually, I have no idea what happened to them. Maybe they died before the conflict, maybe during, maybe after, maybe they're still alive. I have no idea."  
"HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW? THAT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE STORY!"  
"I would argue that it's the least important…" Natsu deadpanned.  
"You know nothing about romance!" He grumbled at this response but decided to continue anyway.  
"Within one-hundred years, the Council of Myth finally decided that they were unable to truly restrain their beings from rampaging the land they so carefully crafted, so they decided to close the gates to Earthland, giving only a select few access to pass through Helgrind, the Gate of Hell, and Coelum, the Gate of Heaven. However, a land could not remain empty, or its existence would cease to be, and the members of the ever successful Council would never admit to a failure, so they decided to fill the land with new beings. Seeing as how lands of both light and dark existed, this land was to be a mix of both. Neither could exist without the other, which is why the Council worked so eloquently together. The members of the council mixed their powers together and inhabited the earth with their new creatures, giving humans reign of the land, and went back to their respective duties."  
"Sounds just like our council...Can't admit a failed project."  
"In their defense, if they had admitted a failure, we wouldn't be here. Besides, I thought you were a fan of the 'forbidden love' or whatever you called it?"  
"That is entirely beside the point!"  
Natsu sighed and continued. "Once again, all good things must come to an end, and conflict began once more. Within the thousand years of their existence, humans had developed magic, language, and basic culture. Unfortunately, their existence was a mix of light and dark, so the people were exactly the same. Those plagued by darkness went mad and committed unspeakable acts upon their fellow beings. Those plagued by light refused to see the reality of life and insisted upon the good in all things. This led to a clash, which led to searches for power. Those who seek conflict to inflict pain discovered the demons and devils, and those who seek conflict to protect found gods and angels. They used these beings to battle each other, thus humans began the First War of the Ethereals."  
"Evil people ruin everything!" Mira huffed. Natsu laughed and ruffled her hair slightly.  
"This war raged for one hundred years, the humans' knowledge allowing them to bypass the barriers set by the Council of Myth, pouring the beings into the world in order to once again battle against their foes. The Council needed a way to fix such a conflict, and thus they created a new being of Ethereal might. Each member donated their power to create a being designed for Earthland, based off of a single one; the Dragon of Old. They populated Earthland with these powerful beasts, once again a mixture of the light and the dark, in order to keep peace within the realm. With the addition of dragons, the war ended within a few years, many creatures from both Heaven and Hell falling, as well as countless Earthland species, including dragons, humans, and monsters alike."  
"If the dragon already existed before Earthland, why didn't he have a realm? You said the other eight members were split among heaven and hell, but what did the Dragon have?" Mira asked, inquisitively.  
"Perhaps fate knew that Earthland would one day come to be, but no one knows. One would expect a council made up of beings of opposites would be in constant conflict, but to my knowledge, such a thing never occurred. Perhaps they were created with the wisdom to prevent such things. There are many things we on a mortal plane cannot understand."  
"I think this is the first time your rambling habit is really useful!" Mira teased, causing a grumble from the dragon slayer and a chuckle from the demon.  
"Unfortunately, the people of Earthland had now gotten a taste of conflict and power. Their insatiable lust for it would not be quelled long, and within another thousand years, the wars would begin again. The Second War of the Ethereals began with the summoning of an army of demons, devils, beasts, and fallen, set to destroy Earthland and take it over as their new rulers. The rulers of Heaven would not allow such a thing, so they sent their own warriors to defend the people. The war raged on, soon followed by the dragons who slaughtered many on both sides. This led to a new conflict, dragons who once held neutral beliefs to all creatures were now taking sides. Some dragons sided with the humans who were simply using the beings to defend themselves, and some sided with those who used them for conquest. Eventually, this split into two factions. Draco de Lumine and Draco de Tenebris, the dragons of light and dark respectively. Humans fought humans, dragons fought dragons, and angels fought demons."  
"That's terrible!"  
"Unfortunately for the people, who were the primary owners of the land that served as nothing but a battlefield, they were by far the weakest, few even able to hurt any of the beings, let alone truly slay one. So the Council of Myth sent two beings down to Earthland to take on apprentices. They sent one devil and one god. Each went to the opposing side and selected a handful of humans to take on their magic in an attempt to end the war. Not ones to be outdone, the dragons did the same, however, they trained far more slayers than the other beings, which would prove to be their downfall."  
"Is that where slayer magic comes from?"  
"Indeed. It was magic ordered by members of the Council of Myth to end the Second War of the Ethereals."  
"So does that mean it's possible to have Fairy Slayer magic? Or Fallen slayer magic? What is a fallen by the way?"  
"I suppose it's possible," Natsu mused, pondering her suggestion. "But I really don't know. Anyway, fallens are similar to reapers; it's the closest thing I can compare them to. They don't carry around big scythes or anything, but they are very similar."  
"Neat!"  
"Anyway, the slayers went mad with power, none more than the dragon slayers, and slew every being they could set eyes upon. This infuriated the teachers, as they watched the battlefield fill with blood and death. None more than Arfedelum, future father of Acnologia, and the strongest dragon to ever live. Arfedelum killed the slayers, nearly every single one falling to the dragon's might, and in his wrath, turned his anger towards his fellow kin. He hated that they would dare teach mere humans the magic to kill them, and so he slaughtered hundreds of dragons, as well as countless beings from both Heaven and Hell, thus ending the war, albeit in a most morose and gruesome fashion."  
"No wonder Acnologia would turn out so evil! I agree that if the slayers went power-mad there had to be something done, but killing them all...that's just terrible!"  
"Indeed. Eventually, though, the dragons settled down and things in the Heavens and Hell did as well. Dragons would occasionally take on an apprentice, as well as devils and gods, however, that was far and few between. This was largely a preventative method more so than anything else. Eventually came the birth of Acnologia, whose hatred of dragons stemmed from his father, though surpassed even his. As the child of possibly the strongest male dragon to have ever lived, and one of his mates, Arcadia, Acnologia was destined for power. He set out on a quest to slaughter dragons, killing them ruthlessly in his conquest. He killed so many dragons, that he single-handedly started the Third Great Dragon War, which would inevitably lead to the near extinction of all dragons. Acnologia grew to surpass his father, who died at the hands of his son, thus taking his place as the self-proclaimed king of dragons. That was around four-hundred years ago, if memory serves correctly."  
"Why did Acnologia kill his own father? I thought both of them hated dragons!"  
"Perhaps that's why. I don't really know, and frankly, I don't care to find out. If I had to give an answer, it would be because Arfedelum took a mate. That sounds insane, seeing as though the only reason for his existence was because Arfedelum took a mate, however, I think it goes against his code. Which is even more confusing, as he teamed up with Archon against my parents…"  
"I'm sorry, Natsu…" she told him giving him a hug.  
"Thanks, Jane...Anyway, that leads us to now. Nearly all dragons have been killed by Acnologia, the last few scattered about the world, hiding to avoid their deaths."  
"That's terrible...Do you think the dragons will die out?"  
"As a species, yes. It is inevitable. However, their souls will live on through dragon slayers. A dragon slayer is created by implanting a piece of a dragon's soul into a body, directly transforming them into a partial dragon. That's partly why dragon-lacrima-based slayers are so much weaker; because the souls they used weren't implanted directly. However, this means that when my time on this plane ends, I can give the gift of a dragon soul to an heir of my choosing. And, since I have two souls, I can choose two heirs."  
"Oh…" Mira whispered. "Let's talk about something a bit more positive if you don't mind…"  
Natsu smiled. "Of course! Now, tell me everything that I've missed over the past year!"  
Mira grinned back and the two spent the rest of the evening catching up and enjoying their time together. Once again, the barmaid was happy. She finally had her dragon back in her life, and everything seemed to be going according to plan.

[Elsewhere]

"Mr. Porla? You have a visitor."  
"Very well, Cynthia. Send them in," he replied, not looking up from his piles of paperwork on his desk. 'Hmmm...perhaps we can lure him out before striking…'  
"José...It's been a while…"  
"Ah, Marcus! I trust you made it here alive?"  
"Well enough, yes. I have a job for you, and I'd like it kept off the books."  
"I thought as much. Usually, you'd send an assistant. What is it?"  
"As you know, my company has been a huge success over the many years I've run it. It's time for me to choose a bride to carry my children so I may have a son to pass on my legacy when I have passed."  
"Of course, and I presume you've picked someone out? But you're not here to invite me to the wedding now, are you?"  
"Of course not. I've chosen that Strauss girl from Fairy Tail, Mirajane. She has a fine figure, powerful magic, and shall make a dutiful housewife. I'd like you to obtain her and bring her back to me, by any means necessary. Of course, she will have to be alive and mostly unharmed."  
"Hmmm...well now, that is rather convenient…"  
"Oh? And why is that?"  
"It just so happens that we've been tasked with returning a runaway back to her father, and she also seems to have joined up with Fairy Tail. Looks like this assault just got bigger…"  
"I trust you'll have no problems completing this task? I want nothing traced back to me."  
"Phantom Lord is easily the strongest guild in Fiore, those fools just like to gloat by showing off in Crocus every year. Looks like we'll just have to show them one at a time, starting with offing those puny Fairy flies."  
"I see. I'll pay five million upfront and forty-five million upon completion. Does that sound acceptable?"  
"Ten million upfront and you have a deal, old friend," José told him, reaching his hand out.  
"You drive a hard bargain as always...We have a deal. When can I expect my bride to arrive?"  
"By the end of the week, I'd say."  
"Good," Marcus replied, shaking the master's hand. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a wedding to plan."


	22. The Twenty Second

Natsu slowly proceeded to a half-awakened state from rays of sunlight shooting him in the eye. 'Damn you sun…' he thought to himself. 'If you weren't so important I'd figure out a way to eat you…'  
While Natsu was drearily plotting his revenge on arguably the most important object in the entire galaxy, Mira herself was slowly rousing from her slumber. 'I don't remember the bed being this warm…' she thought to herself as her eyes slowly fluttered open. What she saw, however, was not the hotel bed she expected to see. It was Natsu.  
"EEEEP!" she squeaked, nearly falling on the ground if not for Natsu's reflexes.  
"Ugh...Jane it is far too early for this…" he grumbled, placing her back on top of him, much to her embarrassment. "Give me like...fifteen more minutes…"  
Words seemed to be failing the white-haired barmaid, and eventually, she just accepted her new position. 'Well...he is rather comfortable...and warm…'  
They stayed like that for another half hour, twice the length of Natsu's initial plan, when Natsu awoke again, gaining some sense of reality this time. "Jane...time to get up…"  
"Mmmm….Natsu…" she mumbled.  
'Hmmm...dèja vu…' he thought. "Jane...come on, get up!"  
"Hmmm?" she asked, slowly rising.  
"Not that I mind, but why exactly are you on top of me?"  
Mira blushed fiercely and scrambled off. "U-um e-er y-you put me there!" she stumbled out.  
"Oh...my bad," he replied. "Well, we should probably get ready, eh? We have a dragonkin to slay!"  
"Ok!" she chirped.  
The two got ready and showered, before heading downstairs to check out of the inn. They stopped at a local cafè to get a simple breakfast, and then they were off.  
"The mayor said that most of the damage was done over in this direction," Mira said, pointing ahead of them. "Do you smell anything lizardy yet?"  
"Lizardy?" Natsu deadpanned.  
"Don't make fun of my speech patterns, Drakeneel!" Mira scolded. "Do you smell anything or not?"  
Natsu chuckled and shook his head. "Not yet, we'll have to get a bit closer for that. Remember, it's a lot harder to differentiate scents in towns and cities, and it's near impossible if I haven't been there before."  
"I guess that's true. You said they control the element of earth, right?"  
"Yep, so with your satan soul, you should be fine. Not that it can't reach you, of course, you'll have to pay close attention when it goes for aerial attacks, but it's better than being on the ground. Not only that, but they can reach fairly high up into the air, even though they don't have arms or legs. They actually make up for that-"  
"Natsu...you're doing it again."  
"Sorry…"  
Mira giggled at him. "Don't worry about me so much. I'm not an S-Class mage for nothing, you know! Besides, if anything goes wrong, I have you there with me. Right?"  
"Aye, sir! Speaking of, I wonder how Happy is doing?"  
"You know him, probably gorging on fish somewhere."  
[Meanwhile - Fairy Tail Guildhall]  
"Erza~," Happy whined. "I'm positive that they'll have strawberry cake when we get there! There is no reason to go so fast!"  
"Nonsense, cat! Strawberry cake is the perfect breakfast for any person, if we aren't there early someone else could snatch it up first!" she declared, quickly continuing her march towards the guildhall.  
"Has anyone ever taken all of the strawberry cake before?" he deadpanned, finally deciding to just land on her head rather than attempt to chase after her.  
"No…but that does not mean that they won't suddenly develop an interest and become cake rivals!"  
"That doesn't make any sense, Erza!" Happy told her, as she opened the guildhall doors. "Obviously what we have to worry about is all the fish being taken!"  
"Nonsense! Fish is inferior to strawberry cake in every way!"  
"Happy?" a voice came from ahead of them.  
"Aye?" Happy pondered, turning away from the knight, only to somehow be tackled off the redhead's shoulders.  
"HAPPY! IT'S YOU! I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!" she squealed, rubbing her face all over his soft fur.  
"AHHHH! ERZA! HELP MEEE!" Happy whined, unable to determine what was assaulting his very being.  
"What? You don't remember me?" she asked, sounding like she was about to cry.  
"How would I-" Happy stopped when he finally got a look at who was smothering him. "TREYA? YOU'RE ALIVE!"  
"HAPPY!"  
"TREYAAAAAA!" The two proceeded to hug on the floor crying on each other while the few people who knew what was going on watched on fondly.  
"You're alive! I'm so glad! Wait, how are you alive? Does that matter? I DON'T CARE! TREYA'S ALIVE! NOW YOU CAN TAKE ME FISHING!" Happy exclaimed.  
Treya broke out into laughter, wiping tears from her eyes. "I have wanted to hear you ask me to take you fishing again for years! We can go today, ok? Do you know any good fishing spots? I don't know the town very well yet. I don't even have a place to stay, Lisanna offered me her sister's room for the night but I don't think I could take that again."  
"You can stay with Natsu and me! Apparently, he stopped by a contractor to fix up our hut to add a few additions while he was away!"  
"Oh, I don't know if I could do that, Happy...I'm sure I'll find my own place."  
"Are you two going to stay on the floor all morning, or are you going to come have breakfast with us?" Lisanna piped up from behind the bar, smiling at the two.  
"Oh! Of course, thank you so much!" Treya replied, bringing Happy over while Lisanna handed him a plate of fish.  
"Aye! My pre-fishing fish! Thanks, Lisanna!"  
She giggled at him. "No problem, Happy! Make sure you guys have fun!"  
"Aye, sir! And next time you can come with us!"  
"We'll see!"  
"So, Happy," Treya started after ordering her breakfast from Lisanna. "Where's Natsu?"  
"Nraftschu isch ern er mrssrn wrtsth Mrrerjrn," Happy replied, mouth full of fish.  
"Happy! Have you forgotten all the table manners I had to teach you two?" Treya scolded.  
Happy swallowed. "Aye, sir!"  
"Natsu was just as bad when he first got here, so don't feel too bad," Lisanna told her, serving Treya her breakfast. "My sister and Erza fixed that up real quick though!"  
"Oh?"  
"Aye, sir! Natsu's on a mission with Mira right now! They loooooove each other!"  
"Really~?" Treya squealed. "Tell me all about her!"  
"Silence feline! That wench is not going to steal-I mean corrupt Natsu!" Erza declared, slamming her gauntlet on the counter.  
"Oh, I see! So Natsu's popular with the ladies now, is he? He better be good to you two, or I'll give my big brother the scolding of a lifetime!"  
"You can say that again!" Lisanna giggled, thrilled to have another person to talk about this stuff with. Almost everyone else she was extremely close to was either involved, like Natsu, Mira, and Erza, or was not good for stuff like that, such as Levy and Elfman. She was slowly starting to corrupt-I mean introduce the method of a matchmaker to the new girl, Lucy, but she hadn't fully accepted the role yet.  
"Well, we definitely have to talk about this later!" Treya said excitedly. It seems talking about her 'big brother's' love life was something that let her easily break out of her normally shy and nervous persona. "But when is Natsu going to be back?"  
"Until that wench stops holding him hostage…" Erza muttered, taking her frustrations out on her third piece of strawberry cake.  
Lisanna sweatdropped at her. "Riiiight...I would say Natsu could be back tonight at the earliest, but I'd say he'll probably be back tomorrow or the day after."  
"I guess that's good," Treya nodded. "I can't wait to see him again. It's been such a long time!"  
"I'll bet he'll be thrilled to see you again! Occasionally he'll tell a story about you guys and it always brings a smile to his face." Lisanna leaned in slightly and whispered. "And I think you were always his favorite!"  
"Of course I was!" she giggled, grinning. "That's why I always got first pick of his souvenirs!"  
"So~," Cana drawled, sitting on the other side of Treya, who was now surrounded by a cake obsessed knight on her left, an alcoholic on her right, a fish loving cat in front of her, and a giggling barmaid on the other side of the counter. "When are you gonna tell us all the embarrassing little Natsu stories?"  
"Well~," she said thoughtfully. "I suppose I can give you a few, but you have to give me all the embarrassing Natsu stories you have too!"  
"Aye, sir!" Happy exclaimed. The group chuckled slightly and started to swap stories about their slightly bizarre dragon slayer, laughing and joking and carrying on like a family.  
'You have quite the surprise when you get back, brat,' Makarov said fondly, watching his children from the other side of the room. 'About time you were given something back instead of having something taken away.'  
Back to Natsu and Mira  
"Yeah, you're probably right," Natsu replied, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "But for some reason, I feel like beating up Happy."  
"I'm sure it's nothing," Mira reassured.  
"I hope so…" he grumbled, earning a giggle from the demon. Either way, the two continued to the outskirts of town to find themselves a Khmer dragon.  
Shortly thereafter, they reached the area that was supposed to be the primary target for the creature. Natsu spent a little bit of time picking up the scent, and eventually he managed to catch it.  
"I think I've got him, but it's weird…" Natsu commented, giving a perplexed look.  
"What do you mean it's weird? Isn't it just…" Mira pondered for a moment trying to think of the right adjective to use.  
"Lizardy?"  
"Natsu!" Mira complained, weakly punching him in the shoulder.  
"Oh relax, Jane! I'm just teasing you!" Natsu replied, ruffling her hair, much to her displeasure. "But what I mean is that it doesn't smell right. I've never caught the scent of a Khmer dragon before, that's just how rare they are, but it doesn't smell...natural? If that makes sense?"  
"Not really…" she deadpanned.  
"It's really hard to explain…" Natsu pondered for a moment. "Wait! I know! How about you smell for yourself?"  
"Natsu, I can't smell things nearly as well as you can. Are you doing alright?"  
"I'm fine, but I remembered talking with Erza earlier."  
"I see…" she said with a frown.  
Natsu sighed. "I mentioned in passing that there is a spell that can increase someone else's senses to be rather similar to a dragon's, but I found it rather useless so I never really bothered to practice. How would you like to be the first to try it out?"  
"Really?" Mira asked, instantly brightening up.  
"Of course! It won't be quite as strong as mine, but I'd estimate you'd have a nose about half as strong as mine, which is fairly close to an average dragon slayer mind you, so don't think you're missing too much."  
'This is so exciting! I'll finally get to figure out what Natsu experiences all the time! I wonder what I smell like to him? What if I smell terrible and he's just being nice…'  
"Jane?" Natsu said, waving his hand in front of her face. "You doing ok?"  
"Eh? Yes! I'm fine! Are you ready to try it out?" she said, snapping back to reality.  
"If you're sure…" Natsu told her. "Ok, move a bit closer."  
"Like this?" she asked, moving closer in front of him, now only about six inches away.  
"Almost, a bit closer."  
"H-how a-about now?" she stuttered, now all but fully flushed up against the slayer.  
"Perfect!" he said softly, leaning closer and pressing his pointer finger on the center of her forehead. "Lost Art of The Dragon King: Sensory Boost!"  
Suddenly, a rush of smells entered her nose and everything suddenly got exponentially louder. Even though the only sound was the breeze and their respective breathing and heartbeats, the sound was loud enough to almost make her wince. But what stuck out more than anything was the scent that was right in front of her. 'It smells like campfires and earth…' she thought to herself, unconsciously leaning into the smell.  
"So how is it?" he whispered softly, trying not to hurt her ears too much.  
"It's loud…" she whispered back, still lost in the incredible scent she seems to have discovered.  
"You get used to it. Also, now you know how I feel when I have to smell you every day," Natsu teased.  
"D-do I r-really smell that bad?" she stuttered, close to tears.  
"No! Not at all! I'm sorry, you misunderstand!" he panicked, bringing her in for a tight hug. "Actually, the exact opposite. I'm guessing you didn't notice how you were completely entranced in sniffing me?"  
"W-what?"  
"You were just mumbling answers while sniffing me. That's what I meant. Every day I have to convince myself that I shouldn't just spend the day breathing in your scent. I'm sorry if I made you think otherwise, Jane. You smell wonderful."  
Mira's blush reached unimaginable heights. "O-oh, u-uh...thank you…" she stuttered out. "S-so, can you tell me what I'm supposed to be sniffing for?"  
"Of course!" he responded happily, releasing her from his hug and giving her a grin that showed through his shadowed face. "Right around here. You should be able to smell something...lizardy."  
"You're never going to let me live that one down, are you?" she sighed.  
"Not a chance. Now c'mon, the faster you figure out what I mean the faster we can deal with this."  
"Alright, fine." Listening to his instructions, Mira sniffed around the area and caught a scent that she could only describe as...you guessed it...lizardy. However, Natsu was right. There was something almost...unnatural about the scent they found.  
"So what do we do about it?" she asked, after agreeing with the slayer's initial thoughts.  
"Well, I'd say we keep that in mind when we track it. Ready to remove the spell now? I'm kind of tired of whispering if I'm being honest."  
"I guess so…" she sighed. 'Aw, come on! I liked him whispering!'  
"Very well." Natsu reached over and touched her forehead again, and she felt her senses dull down to normal levels. "Now let's go!"  
"Wait a minute, how come you didn't need to get super close to me to take it off?" Mira asked, chasing after him.  
"I have no idea what you mean."  
"You did that on purpose! Natsu! Get back here!"  
Natsu ran away chuckling, the demon barmaid close on his heels, as he chased down the scent of the somewhat unnatural dragonkin and Mira chased down the tricky slayer.  
Shortly after, they slowed their pace down to a companionable walk and continued to search for the creature for around another hour and a half. Natsu stopped abruptly, halting the two of them as his ears twitched and his nose flared.  
"What is it, Natsu? Are we close?" Mira questioned.  
"Yeah, we're entering its territory now. Remember, Khmer dragons are very advanced, so they should be willing to negotiate. We may not have to kill it. I'll just warn you ahead of time that they also follow a lot of dragon customs as well, which I'm not sure if it will help or hinder us in the long run. Only time will tell, I suppose."  
"Uh...I don't really know any dragon customs, Natsu," Mira pointed out quietly.  
"Don't worry about it, Jane. For the most part, you can either copy me or I'll tell you what to do, and since I speak draconic, I'll be the medium. Just let me do the talking, not that he could understand you anyway."  
"Sounds good!"  
They continued walking for a brief period of time before a loud rumbling noise began to echo around the forest they were currently traveling through.  
"Was that…?" Mira started.  
"Yep. Can't say I'm not excited though."  
A large creature at least sixty feet in length came slithering out of the forest in front of them. Its scales were a brilliant shade of jade green, with bright shimmering gold fins and crests, and its eyes were a dark and deep red like rubies. It had a row of razor sharp teeth and a long slit tongue and a white, quartz-like underbelly. The creature rose its mighty head into the air to gaze upon the two travelers who traversed his domain.  
"Svaust ui coi batobot beviri ekess ossalur boga sia thaczil?" he grumbled, in a deep, echoing voice. (Who is it that dares to travel across my land?)  
"Just follow my lead, ok?" Natsu told Mira, to which she nodded in response. "Zexenuma janikup vur tall, ihk yth darastrixi re tiichia," Natsu told him, igniting his right palm and showing it to the dragon. He slowly grabbed Mira's left hand and turned it so the back was facing the dragon and gestured for her to coat it in magic as well, which she caught on after a moment and did so. (Stay mighty and tall, for we dragons are blessed.)  
"Hmmm…" the dragonkin rumbled thoughtfully and lowered himself to inspect the new visitors. "Munthreki svaust posses irthir di wer nesimtok Vs'shtakvi fekiikir… Visp ve munthrek, svaust re wux?" (Humans who possess knowledge of the traditional draconian greeting... Tell me human, who are you?)  
"Deevdru di Igneel, Natsu Drakeneel, heir di wer aussir ixen darastrix daar. Aciv ui Mirajane Strauss, vi danthe thurirl di sia kurjh. Svabol ominak tepohaic coanwor majaktor unto wux?" (Son of Igneel, I am Natsu Drakeneel, heir to the white fire dragon kings. She is Mirajane Strauss, a dear friend of my own. What name hath been given unto you?)  
"Fekiikiri, kwi deevdru di Igneel. Si tepoha coanwor ingowila mrith thric ominak acht nomenoi." (Greetings, oh son of Igneel. I have been graced with no name upon these lands.)  
Natsu gasped while Mira just shot him a very confused look, as she had no idea what the two were talking about, not able to interpret anything other than names from the rough speech that is draconic. "Svaust ui coi batobot loritic dout title zara vi trelka cage?" (Who is it that holds your title behind a closed cage?)  
If at all possible, the dragonkin seemed to let out a sad sigh as it continued. "Si shilta ti yenta, shar si mi lorita persvek nomenoi lands halkvri si sia ominak ui." (I cannot say, but I am trapped in these lands until my name is returned.)  
"Well...that certainly is troublesome…" Natsu muttered to himself. "Nomagqe si nomag regipre ekess wux vi title, zyak wux nomag shafaer de nomeno togofor?" (Perhaps I may bequeath you with a title, so you may move on from this plane?)  
"Sjek coi ui irsa dout huvenic, deevdru di Igneel. Svabol ui coi wux huven persvek?" (If it is within your wishes, son of Igneel. What is it you wish in return?)  
"Coi ui shar vi banpri. Persvek ihk dout freedom, si wux jaseve wer shripomn wyogada dampra miles ilache loaw." (It is but a simple request. In exchange for your freedom, I request you leave the village located several miles South alone.)  
"Hmmm…." the dragon rumbled, eyeing the two suspiciously. "Zi algbo, deevdru di Igneel. Svabol ominak nishka wux regipre ve mrith?" (Very well, son of Igneel. What title shall you bequeath unto me?)  
"Jane, I need you to help me name him," Natsu told her, while the dragonkin continued to gaze upon them, awaiting his new title.  
"WHAT?" she questioned loudly.  
"I'll explain it quickly. Basically, a dragon's name is his pride, which we are known for. He doesn't have one, and he requires a title to be free. As a dragon king, I am eligible to bequeath him with a new title, the only other being his father, which is unlikely if not impossible. I am terrible at stuff like this, you aren't, so please could you help me out here?"  
"Uh...sure…" Mira told him, still not fully grasping the concept. "Let's see...is he a male or a female?"  
"You are so lucky he doesn't speak the common tongue…" Natsu said, rubbing his temple. "He's male."  
"Then how about...Lapide! It means gemstone!" (Pronounced La-pee-day)  
"That's...actually...really good. Well done, Jane!" Natsu turned to the Khmer dragon, who was patiently awaiting his freedom. "Si regipre wux wer ominak di Lapide, Khmer di Gemstones. Origato coi qe vucat wer thaczil, batobot dout title jahus regiprea ini Natsu Drakeneel, deevdru di Igneel." (I bequeath you the name of Lapide, Khmer of Gemstones. Let it be known throughout the land, that your title was gifted by Natsu Drakeneel, son of Igneel.)  
"Si majak wux sia, deevdru di Igneel. Origato dout altiuiri wiap yoweth vur dout ibafarshani valignat nomenes svaust stand seanf wux." (I give you my thanks, son of Igneel. Let your wings fly high and your flames burn those who stand against you.)  
"Veitrelg, Lapide, Khmer di Gemstones. Grigato dout crest qanesc itmen vur dout janik nar l'gra sari dout irlymi," Natsu replied. This time, however, he unleashed a weak fire dragon's roar at the beast who responded in kind with an earthy roar of his own, meeting him in power with clumps of rock and earth. "Nomag yth tafiaf acht wer janik di vi darastrix…" (Farewell, Lapide, Khmer of Gemstones. Let your crest shine bright and your might strike fear into your enemies. May we meet upon the might of a dragon...)  
"Vur hysvear sari wer mitne!" Lapide roared back, before turning away from the two and disappearing. (And soar into the light!)  
"Well...that went better than I expected," Natsu mused aloud.  
"I would say the same...except I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT JUST HAPPENED!" Mira complained loudly. "Are you gonna catch me up to speed on what you talked about?"  
"Of course, Jane! I'd never just leave you hanging like that!" Natsu replied as the two began to return to the town. "He detected us in our territory and inquired as to who we were, and I responded with a traditional dragon greeting. It's fairly simple, and it translates to 'stand mighty and tall, for we dragons are blessed.' It reflects a dragon's pride and gives respect to the dragon you are greeting."  
"So what was that thing with magic?" she asked, inquisitively.  
"Male dragons raise their right front limb coated in their magic with the palm facing towards whoever they're greeting, while female dragons raise their left with the palm facing away. For males, it's a show of strength and for females, it's a show of civility."  
"So what I'm hearing is you dragons think women are weak?" Mira asked with a terrifyingly sweet smile.  
"Not at all. In dragon culture, female dragons tend to be far less aggressive than the males," he answered slightly nervously with a cold shiver up his spine. "That's not to say they weren't powerful, but they really only fought in emergency situations, excluding the queen of course."  
"Hmmm… Well, I suppose you didn't come up with these customs, so I'll spare you for now."  
'Spare me?' Natsu thought with a shiver. 'I can never tell if I prefer the demon or the sweet barmaid…'  
"So, what happened next?"  
"We introduced ourselves! I couldn't really give you a...proper...introduction because I don't know who your father was."  
"I didn't know him very well myself…" Mira replied softly, giving a slight sad frown.  
"Hey, it'll be ok," Natsu told her, giving her a quick one-armed hug and rubbing her shoulder. "When dragons introduce themselves, they start with the name of their father, as a sign of respect to those before you, as well as spread tales of legendary dragons. For example, a mighty dragon would give his father fame even if his father himself was not a well-renowned dragon simply because his father raised such a strong one."  
"That's actually kind of cool," Mira said, smiling at his casual show of affection. "I could say 'granddaughter of Makarov, the master of Fairy Tail, Mirajane Strauss!' That has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"  
Natsu chuckled. "That it does. Maybe we'll meet a dragon or a dragon slayer sometime, and you can help me with the introduction. Sound good?"  
"Yay!" she exclaimed. "Ok, so after that. Why did we have to give him a name?"  
"Well, that's a tricky one…" Natsu replied thoughtfully, scratching his chin. "As I mentioned, respect and pride are extremely important to dragons. Humans often see dragons as cocky or overconfident because of this, but pride is part of our culture. Without pride, you are seen as lesser. Somehow, he lost his name."  
"How do you lose a name? And why did we have to give him a new one?"  
"I'm not entirely certain, but there are a few ways that could happen. One is that he was defeated in battle where terms were arranged prior, but I highly doubt that. A Khmer dragon wouldn't be defeated by just any old human, and I can't imagine a dragon or a dragon slayer taking another's title as their spoils of war. I can't think of any that have been that evil. Most would rather give up their lives."  
"It's that important? It's better to die than live without a name?" Mira asked, shocked.  
"That's the thing, it's more than a name. It's a title and a way of life for us. Without it, we are bound to live menial lives for the rest of our existence. If we hadn't come along when we did, he would have no choice but to stay there until he died. He was a dragon with no pride, and thus would have been happier dead."  
"Wow...that's terrible," she said sadly. "But if someone didn't win it in a fight, how did he lose it?"  
"He could be afflicted by some sort of spell or he could have been summoned here without a title. I would say the latter is the most likely of the three."  
"There's a spell that makes you forget your name? And you can summon Khmer dragons?" she asked in shock.  
"It's more of a control spell, and the reason I don't think it's that is that that spell was lost to time. Lost magic is lost enough, this is like...lost five times over. I would be shocked if any records of it exist and even more shocked if anyone actually knew it. And yes, it's possible to summon them, though I genuinely have no idea how. I would guess it's similar to the celestial spirit magic that new girl uses...what was her name again? Lute...Loopy...Lucy! That's it! Anyway, I would say it's probably something like that where they are summoned and receive their title. The strange thing is that if that were the case, he wasn't given a title, meaning whoever summoned him is either an idiot who shouldn't know that magic because he knows nothing about dragon culture, or is pure evil who summoned something just to torment it."  
"Wow...I guess that makes sense. And if he was summoned, would that explain why he didn't smell correct?"  
"Exactly. That's another reason I'd say that is the most likely."  
"I guess that makes sense. I wonder who'd do such a thing? Anyway, why did we have to name him? Couldn't he have named himself or just gone and asked someone for a name?"  
"Absolutely not! Proclaiming your own title is disgraceful and disgusting! The only dragon who has ever done such a despicable and vile act was Acnologia himself!" Natsu shouted angrily.  
"Ok, ok, calm down there, Natsu. I didn't know."  
"I'm sorry...I get really worked up...about…"  
"I know, it's ok. So if someone else couldn't name him, why could we?"  
"Royalty has its perks. Titles are either given through family or by royalty, so when you came up with Lapide, I gave him the full title or 'Lapide, Khmer of Gemstones.' So if he were to ever introduce himself, he would say something along the lines of, 'Gifted by Natsu Drakeneel, the White Fire Dragon King, I am Lapide, Khmer of Gemstones.'"  
"Wow, so you could get famous among dragon culture from him?"  
"If he was a mighty Khmer dragon, which he seemed fairly strong to me, and dragon culture was as prevalent as it once was, yes. Honestly, though, I can't imagine him ever having to introduce himself like that, it would be rather odd."  
"Speaking of strong, why did you two attack each other? I almost joined in, you could have at least warned me…"  
"It's another pride thing. We show off our strength and power. If there is a clear superior dragon, such as me because I'm a king and he's a Khmer, the superior is expected to match in power that of whoever was below him as a sign of respect. If I didn't respect him, I would've sent a full power roar into his scaly maw!"  
Mira giggled. "Of course you would have! So let's get back. It's already late afternoon and we skipped lunch."  
"Aye, sir! Would you like to stay here another night?"  
"Can we?" she asked, hopefulness in her eyes.  
"I don't see why not. We can catch the morning train tomorrow and be there by lunchtime...God I hate trains…"  
"Oh don't be such a baby," Mira teased.  
Natsu shook his head and sighed, but he couldn't get rid of this eerie feeling he had. Who on earthland would strip one of the last remaining Khmers of its title? And how would anyone know how to summon one?

[Elsewhere]

Greetings, Nu Wa. How did the experiment go?"  
"It was a complete success, master Heavens, though I must ask why we are doing this? It doesn't make too much sense to me."  
"Tell me Nu Wa, why is it that we beings crave conflict?"  
"I don't understand master Heavens…"  
"We of the earth, them of Heaven, and them of Hell. We all crave conflict. Do you know why that is?"  
"No, master Heavens."  
"Of course not. Conflict has raged since the dawn of time, and will continue to ravage until the end of time. It's rather simple. Conflict breeds conflict. The more we fight, the more we desire to fight, no matter the reason. It is because of this, Nu Wa, that we shall coax the gate of Heavens to open with war. When they arrive, we gift them glory and pride, strength and victory, and they shall take their rightful place at the helm of earthland. And when they do, we of the tower who brought them here...we will achieve true heaven! We shall bring this world to its knees with the light of the heavens and build it to be better than ever before!"  
"I see, master Heavens. But must it be done with the guardians of earthland?"  
"Of course. If we were to bring humans into this, the beings of heaven would take it as an insult to their pride! If we open Helgrind, they would take it as a declaration of war against their existence. No, we bring them a mutual foe that they may destroy and begin their conquest to take earthland as its rulers."  
"Very well, master Heavens. I shall take my leave."  
"Of course, Nu Wa…"


	23. The Twenty-Third

"Come on, Natsu! You have got to get off or you'll have to ride it again!" Mira scolded lightly.  
"Just...kill...me…" Natsu groaned back, crawling slowly out of the train.  
Mira rolled her eyes, and dragged him off of his self-proclaimed 'number one rival' whom he swore to defeat 'in a fiery supernova of epic proportions.' "Do I need to use Levy's trick again? It may not be what I intended, but it certainly-"  
"Nope! I'm doing perfectly fine, Jane!" he responded quickly, somehow immediately standing up. "I'll even take your stuff for you, so if you could never speak of that again, that would be wonderful."  
"Hmmm…" Mira pondered, teasingly. "I suppose that would be ok, but what would you do for me in return?"  
"Hold that thought a moment," Natsu interrupted, turning around and staring suspiciously at the train station. "I think something's wrong."  
"What do you mean by that?"  
"The town's quieter than it should be. It's not silent, but everyone is speaking in whispers. I can barely make any of the words out, but the tone sounds like...well...pity."  
"Do you think something happened?" she questioned, worriedly.  
"I don't know, but we should hurry up and find out."  
The two raced towards the guildhall, and as they came into view, they finally saw it.  
"Our guild hall!" Mira gasped. Natsu started to growl, a low, threatening, rumbling sound from deep in his throat as he gazed upon his home in anger.  
"Let's go. Now. If anyone was hurt, there'll be hell to pay. So help me if anyone so much as touched them-"  
"It's Fairy Tail, I'm sure they'll be fine," Mira reassured him. In reality, she was just as worried if not more so than he was, but someone needed to calm down the raging dragon that was terrifying the few pedestrians walking around town nearby. 'Please...Elfman...Lisanna...everyone...please be ok…'  
The two raced full speed to the guild and got to the front of it. "Erza! Lisanna! Master! Is anyone there!" Natsu shouted.  
"Lisanna!" Mira yelled excitedly, as the short white-haired barmaid emerged from the building. "Thank goodness you're alright!"  
"No one was hurt, don't worry, Mira," Lisanna said, patting her back.  
"Thank goodness…" she whispered, releasing her sister.  
"So...he shows his colors, eh? That little brat…" Natsu mumbled, looking at the damage. The entire guild was in shambles, giant iron rods and pillars stuck through the walls and ceiling, the door ripped off its hinges, and the windows shattered to pieces.  
"How do you already know?" Lisanna asked her, rather surprised. The guild had a pretty good idea of what happened, but there was no direct evidence.  
"It was Metallicana's brat, no doubt about it," Natsu sighed. "I'll fix that punk eventually. I've never actually met the kid, but Metallicana was 'friends' with Draco, so I heard a lot about that metal headed dragon. If Black Steel is anything like his dad, he's gonna be a hard one to reign in."  
"What's with the air quotes around friends?" Mira asked.  
"Pretty much the same as you and Erza when I first got here…"  
"Oh…"  
"I don't smell blood, so am I correct to assume he struck when no one was here?" Natsu asked the youngest Strauss.  
"As clever as always!" Lisanna chirped, nodding at his question. "Though I'm surprised you haven't caught another scent yet."  
"Oh, did we get a new member? Interesting. It's probably because of all the damage, I can't really smell any of you all that well right now. Dust, metal, and wood is really all I can get."  
"Hmm...you'll have to see when we get down there," Lisanna smiled at him, much to Mira's confusion. "Let's go, everyone's downstairs."  
Mira and Natsu glanced briefly at each other before shrugging and following her into the ruins and down the stairs into the basement.  
"So we're set up down here?" Mira asked as she began to descend.  
"Yup!" Lisanna chirped back as they walked down. They made it about halfway when Natsu stopped and his eyes grew huge.  
'It...no...it can't be…' he thought to himself, as a single tear slid down his cheek.  
"Natsu? Why'd you stop?" Mira asked, turning around giving him a perplexed look. "Are you ok? Why are you crying?"  
"Give him a second, Mira. It's a surprise," Lisanna told her, as she dragged her sister down the steps.  
"Lisanna~! Hey! Stop dragging me! What's wrong with Natsu?" she whined, as her little sister took her hand and forced her down the steps.  
'She knows...that means…it has to be, I'd know that scent anywhere…' Tears continued to pour down his face as he slowly walked down the stairs. All eyes were on him as he reached the bottom.  
"I-it's really you…" he whispered hoarsely, stripping off his cloak. "I-I...how...are you?" For once, the master of words, the ever rambling dragon slayer was at a loss. He couldn't speak and he could hardly breathe. Standing across the room staring at him with her dainty hands over her mouth and tears pouring down her face was his long lost favorite pseudo-sister from Rösch...Treya herself.  
"Natsu...it's really you…" she whispered back. "Natsu!"  
"Treya!" As if in sync, they just ran at each other and gave a fierce hug, words ceasing to come as they just cried into each other. Natsu towered over her by at least a head, but they fit perfectly as a reunited brother and sister should. "You're back...alive…"  
"I'm finally home…" she whispered. "Wherever your family is, that's where home is. Do you remember?"  
"Of course I do…" he whispered back.

[Flashback]

It was now Natsu's third week in Rösch, and he had befriended everyone at the orphanage. Well...almost everyone. Treya was still a bit scared of him, but at least she wasn't hiding as much anymore. Natsu was a bit nervous around her himself because he didn't really want to make people uncomfortable. Other people being uncomfortable was one of the only things that made him uncomfortable, though he didn't always really notice.  
Fortunately, that was all about to change, when Natsu decided to head back to his room in the early afternoon to write a bit in his journal. He kept writing in it every day, though he tried to be as private about it as he could. When Natsu arrived at the outside of the door, he heard soft whimpers from the other side. Slowly opening the door, he caught sight of little Treya hugging her pillow and crying, while the scent of saltwater slowly permeated throughout the room.  
"Treya? Are you ok?" he asked cautiously, approaching her slowly.  
"N-Natsu!" she exclaimed, surprised and nervous at his sudden arrival.  
He could tell that she was trying to come up with something to say, but couldn't. She seemed nervous that it was just the two of them, but that was covered up by sorrow. Unsure of what to do, Natsu decided to do exactly what Igneel did to him when he was sad.  
"Just let it out…" he whispered to her, after sitting next to her and pulling her into a hug. "Let everything out and it will all feel better."  
Treya's eyes widened in shock. She felt the warmth of his fire and somehow for the first time in years, she felt safe. That as long as he was there, nothing could go wrong. And so, the dam broke. She collapsed into his arms, bawling into his chest as he slowly stroked her back letting her get it all out.  
After about ten minutes, she pulled away; her eyes red and puffy. "T-thank y-you…" she mumbled.  
He gave a small grin in response. "Of course. Now, why don't you tell me what's wrong? Igneel always told me that it's better to talk about what makes you feel sad, that way you don't have to deal with it alone."  
"O-oh...o-ok…" she stuttered shyly. "I-I just miss my momma..."  
"Oh…" he whispered, allowing her to go on.  
"When I was really little, a bunch of bad people were in charge of our town. Momma was always really scared. One day, a bunch of people came to try to save us and Momma took me and ran to the forest. We ran into one of the bad men that always took things from momma...he used to come into our house and beat momma for no reason…" she said, her tears starting again. Natsu's heart was breaking at her story, as all he could do was keep holding her as she told the story. "Momma told me to run away and not to look back, but the people that came to save us told me that she died...the bad man killed her."  
"I'm so sorry, Treya...that's terrible…" he whispered.  
"But that was my home, and now...now I'm just an orphan!" she bawled. "And no one loves me, and I'm all alone!"  
"That's not true, Treya…" he said, slowly rubbing her back. "You have all of us. You have Cindy and Parker, Ma and Ashley. And you have me."  
"You really think so?" she sniffled.  
"Of course! We're like one big family!" he grinned. "Ashley is like our responsible big sister, and Ma is our momma. Cindy is the excited sister and Parker's the annoying little brother!"  
Treya giggled. "Don't be mean to Parker, Natsu!"  
"And you're our adorable little sister that we love to bits!" he grinned, as she giggled some more.  
"Does that mean you're our big brother?" she questioned.  
"I'd love it if you thought that."  
"I think you make a great big brother…"  
"Thanks, Treya. It's nice to have a big family, don't you think?"  
"Yeah…"  
"You know what Igneel used to tell me was the best part about having a family? He said that the best part was always having someone by your side, so you never have to be alone. He said that as long as you have a family, you have a place you belong and a place to return to, because wherever your family is is your home."  
"I wish I could've met Igneel."  
"I would have loved that…"

[Flashback End]

They stood there hugging for several minutes, forgetting the world around them, just glad to finally see each other again. Eventually, though, Treya pulled back slightly and smiled at him.  
"You look just as feral as I remember you being."  
"And you still cry over nothing," Natsu replied happily.  
"Oh, because you're not crying," she scoffed.  
"I hate to interrupt your reunion," Gray started. "But now that Natsu and Mira are back, shouldn't we try to do something in retaliation? They attacked our guildhall! We can't just let them get away with that!"  
"As I told you before, Gray," Makarov replied with a heavy sigh. "No one was hurt. If they are so cowardly as to not face us directly, what reason have we to go to war, which, need I remind you, is against the rules of the council! We could be shut down as a guild!"  
"Master is right, Gray," Natsu added, pointing Treya to a table to wait for him, to which she happily heads over and sits down. "My guess is they did this in an attempt to get us to attack them anyway. I don't know if they're after something or if they're just jealous and want our guild shut down, but for right now, attacking them is the worst possible decision we could make. So help me if they hurt any of my family…" he growled, as his words went from reasonable and wise to bloodthirsty and venomous, "hell itself won't stop a raging dragon. Who knows...a crown might need to be reborn…"  
Makarov paled at that, and both Erza and Mira shifted uncomfortably as Natsu sat down next to Treya, who, while perplexed, patted his shoulder comfortingly.  
"What was-" Gray started.  
"Whoops! I gotta hit the can!" Makarov announced and toddled over to the restroom.  
"Uh, is anyone else-"  
"Problem, Gray?" Erza asked threateningly.  
"No, ma'am!"  
"Good!"  
After whatever that was, the crowd dispersed and went about their everyday business. Mira took her place back with her sister at the bar, Erza finished her cake, and Natsu decided to catch up with his long lost little sister.  
"So I want to start," he said, looking straight at her. "How are you here? How did you survive? Don't get me wrong, I haven't been this happy in...I don't think there was a last time, but how?"  
"They didn't kill me," she told him. "They tried, but I ran away and they couldn't catch up. I would have died anyway, but luckily a family found me in the woods and nursed me back to health."  
"What happened?"  
"After...Ashley died…" she breathed heavily. Even after all this time, it was a hard story to tell, and Natsu just rubbed her shoulder reassuringly. "You froze, and I got scared...and just ran away. I was so angry at myself for so long. If I hadn't run away, I could have helped you all...I-I was s-so sure you'd all died!"  
"Shh…It's ok. You did the best thing you could. If you hadn't, you wouldn't be here right now, right?"  
"I-I guess. Are you sure that you aren't even a little angry at me?" she asked between sniffles and tears.  
"How on earthland could I be angry at you? If you hadn't run away, I would never have gotten to see you again."  
"Thank you…" she whispered. "You're the best big brother I've ever had."  
"I'd better be, since you haven't had any others," he said chuckling, as she giggled. "Is that why it took you so long to come find me?"  
"Yeah, I thought you were dead…" she muttered.  
"Well, I guess I can't fault you for that...I was pretty under the radar."  
"No kidding! If it weren't for Happy, I still wouldn't have guessed it was you! 'Mysterious Dual Salamander!'" she teased.  
"In fairness, it wasn't my choice," he defended. "The whole 'under the radar' thing definitely was, for reasons I'll tell you later, but the nickname was a coincidence."  
"What trouble have you caused this time, Natsu!"  
"I have no idea what you're talking about!"  
"Oh, sure you don't! Just like you weren't causing trouble when you put a rabbit's head on Parker's pillow!"  
"That was hilarious and you know it!"  
"IT WAS TERRIFYING!"  
The two carried on for hours, several other members of the guild, joining them for brief introductions and stories about Natsu, which included Mira, Erza, Lisanna, Lucy, Levy, and Loke, although he was just there to try to get a date with Treya. Let's just say Loke won't be going on a date for a while and move on. It was around dinner time when Natsu excused himself briefly to speak with Makarov about something.  
"Master, I have a suggestion for you."  
"And what is that, my boy?"  
"I think we should leave here in groups for the near future. Who knows what Phantom Lord was really after, and if it's one of our members, better safe than sorry."  
"Hmmm…I suppose that would be wise," Makarov nodded in agreement. "Go ahead and suggest it, but I can't force anything since this is in their private lives."  
"Very well, master. Thank you."  
"Thank you, my boy. A good suggestion; always a good thing to watch out for your family members."  
Natsu smiled and jumped up to the second level to get a vantage point to announce from. "EVERYONE, LISTEN UP!" he roared, silencing the guildhall since Natsu rarely raised his voice like that. "Due to the recent incident with Phantom Lord, master and I have both agreed that it would be wise to stay in groups while at home and while traveling for the near future. I would recommend groups of three to six people, seeing as two people isn't quite large enough, and seven seems rather excessive. Be sure to discuss sleeping and travel arrangements accordingly if you plan to adhere to this advice. That is all."  
A cheer rang out, including a drunken unintelligible shout from Cana, a roar about manly men protecting their family being super manly from Elfman, and a reassurance that all his women would be protected by Loke. Natsu jumped down and rejoined Treya.  
"So where have you been staying?" he asked her.  
"Lisanna offered me Mira's room, but since she's back I'm not sure. I was planning on leaving tonight anyway, so I should be able to afford-"  
"That settles it."  
"That settles what?"  
"You're living with me until I can either buy you a place to live or you can."  
"Natsu, you really don't need to-"  
"Nope, no arguments," he silenced her by covering her mouth with his hand. "You are staying in the guest room of my house, which I just happened to have added recently, and that is final. I would buy you a place tomorrow...but the council kind of took the last of my jewels in a fine…"  
"Oh good grief, Natsu!" she groaned and scolded him about following rules properly. "With that being said, are you really sure about this? I don't mind staying in a hotel until I can find a job."  
"It's not that I don't mind, it's that I insist upon it. I will not have my sister staying in a hotel when she can stay with me. Besides, I can get you a job. You can work here."  
"Natsu, I don't know magic. And before you offer, I have no plans to become a mage either. I don't really have good experiences with magic."  
"I know that. I was going to suggest you work with Mira and Lisanna as a waitress. Isn't that what you were doing before?"  
"I guess I could do that for a little while," she replied, pondering the suggestion. "But are you sure about that? Everyone else here is a mage, I don't want you to make an exception just for me. It's not like I won't see you ever if I work somewhere else, you know."  
"Of course I know that. The thing about Fairy Tail is everyone in it is a family. It's not about the strong or the weak, it's about being together and being there for one another. And apparently, as I've just learned, it's about figuring out if fairies have tails or not."  
"Of course this is where you'd end up," she giggled. "Ok, softie. You win. I'll stay with you and if they let me, I'll work here for a bit."  
"So where do you want your guild mark?" Mira asked, approaching the duo with a stamp in hand.  
"Don't I have to do an interview or something? And how did you know I wanted to join anyway?" Treya asked incredulously.  
"Nope! Fairy Tail is a family, we don't really turn away members. And of course you were going to join, you're Natsu's sister! Like he'd let you go anywhere else!" she giggled.  
"You have a point there, Jane," Natsu nodded in agreement.  
"Alright, I guess. I'll take it on the back of my right hand, please."  
"Here you go!" she exclaimed happily, pressing the stamp to the back of her hand, revealing a dark purple stamp.  
"How come mine is purple?" she asked, inspecting it. "Is it random or something?"  
"Nope!" Mira exclaimed, walking away, deciding to leave the explanation to Natsu.  
"So are you gonna tell me why it's purple?" she asked Natsu.  
"I don't know exactly, but supposedly, the mark is a color that represents someone that has affected you deeply in the past or someone that will affect you deeply in the future. So, mine is red for Draco, or at least I think so."  
"And Mira's is white for you," Treya nodded thoughtfully.  
"I suppose that's possible, but I think it's more likely that it's for her siblings."  
"You can deny it all you want, it's definitely for you. And maybe your red mark is for a pretty knight that I saw earlier. Aren't you the lady killer, Natsu?" she teased.  
"Did you spend this whole time being corrupted by Lisanna?"  
"I may have, but then again, I might have always been this way."  
Natsu sighed and muttered something about difficult women. "Alright, well it's getting late, so let's get a posse together and go back to my place. You can get your stuff from the Strauss' place tomorrow morning, I'll have Happy fly you there if need be. Speaking of, where did he go?"  
"Aye, sir!" Happy called, flying in from the kitchen. "Mira gave me a fish!"  
"Of course she did…" he sighed and went to gather a group together, leaving the cat and female combo to wait for him. The group ended up being Natsu, Treya, Erza, Gray, Lucy, and Happy. He offered to bring Mira too, who clearly wanted to come, but had to stay with her siblings to make sure their group was large enough. Erza gave quite the victorious smirk when Mira glared over.  
"Alright everyone, ready to go?" Natsu said, donning his cloak.  
"Do you really wear that everywhere you go?" Treya asked.  
"I do. I don't really like people knowing who I am, so if you could either speak quietly, since you know I'll hear you, or refrain from saying my name, I'd appreciate it a lot."  
"Sure thing, 'Mysterious Dual Salamander,'" she teased.  
"You're just jealous that I have an amazing nickname!"  
"Sure she is, lizard breath," Gray said. "Can we go already?"  
"You will appreciate that Natsu invited you to be in our group, Gray…" Erza declared, glaring at the now spooked ice mage.  
"I'm sure he is, Erza. Snow queen is just afraid to say it."  
"Thanks for inviting me too!" Lucy chirped up. 'Though I don't really know if I should be glad or terrified to be in this group…'  
"No problem at all, Lucy. Happy seems to have taken quite a liking to teasing you, so I figured I'd give him that opportunity."  
"Aye, sir! Loopy is so fun to tease! But she's really heavy!" Happy declared.  
"Natsu! Don't encourage him!" Treya scolded. "And Happy you be nice to Lucy. I'm sure she's done nothing to warrant your relentless teasing."  
"Aye…" Happy said dejectedly.  
"Alright, with that out of the way, onwards!" Natsu announced, leading his pack off towards the wilderness where his home awaited.  
While not a large upgrade, Natsu had some improvements made to his miniscule cottage in the woods. He now had two stories; the main level containing a kitchen, the main room, a half-bathroom, and a library/office, and a second floor which had three bedrooms, two full bathrooms, one of which was in the master bedroom, and a handful of closets. It was by no means a mansion, but it was definitely roomier than the last place he had. Many of his trophies were left in boxes scattered about the living room, stacked in various sections, but all the rooms had furniture and other essentials.  
"Natsu Drakeneel! How are you still such a slob!" Treya scolded, looking at the copious amounts of boxes in the room.  
"I'm not a slob! I just had this renovated over the past few days! This is my first time here!" Natsu defended. "I still have to unpack everything, but I'll do that another day since you guys are all here, so make yourselves at home. Treya you can have one of the spare bedrooms, Erza and Lucy you two can take another one, and Gray can take the couch."  
"Why do they get bedrooms?" Gray complained, plopping down on the couch. "At least it's comfortable…"  
"Problem, Gray?" Erza said, glaring at the ice mage.  
"Oh, lighten up Erza," Natsu chastised, ruffling her hair a bit. "Because they're women, Gray, and I do not feel like receiving another lecture from Mira if she finds out I had one of them sleeping on the couch."  
Gray thought about responding, but wisely chose to keep his mouth shut.  
"So what's in all the boxes?" Lucy asked, as she walked around inspecting everything.  
"I'll take a guess and say 90% of it is your horde, isn't it?" Treya teased.  
"It's not a horde! They're trophies!" Natsu defended again.  
"All this time and you haven't changed one bit," Treya sighed, smiling to herself.  
"Of course I've changed! What, did you expect a dragon to not keep treasures?"  
"You're not a dragon, Natsu…"  
"Anyway…" Lucy interrupted awkwardly. "This is a nice place. Thanks again for letting me stay here."  
"As I said before, it's fine. Far better we stay in groups anyway. It's safer that way, and I have the space. Here, I'll take you guys up to your rooms."  
Natsu took the group upstairs and led the duo of the scarlet knight and the blonde celestial mage up to their shared room, and Treya to hers. After that, he dug around finding a pillow and blanket for the ice mage and chucked it at him, earning a grumble of protest with a hint of appreciation in there somewhere. He gave an amused look and headed back to his room, though Happy had decided to sleep with Treya for today.  
'I should be ecstatic right now. I have my favorite little sister back, Mira and Erza don't hate me, and the guild seems to be doing well, despite Phantom's aggression...I can't figure out why I have this terrible feeling…' Natsu thought to himself as he settled into bed to sleep.  
The next morning, like usual, Natsu arose with the sun. He decided to make breakfast, so after a quick shower and change of clothes, he headed downstairs. After rummaging through the fridge for a bit, he heard soft footsteps coming down the stairs and a quiet yawn.  
"Well, you're up early," Natsu commented, not turning to look since he knew who it was by scent and sound alone.  
"Well, it's not every day you find out your big brother is still alive after thinking he was dead for so many years," Treya replied, walking over to the kitchen. "Besides, I worked at a diner. Morning shifts could get pretty early since our big rushes were for breakfast and brunch."  
"I guess that makes sense," he nodded in agreement. "I still can't believe you're here. And look at you! You're all grown up now! I remember the terrified little girl who slept next to me when she was scared. Ah, memories…"  
"Natsu!" she scolded with a light blush. "We were little kids! Of course I grew up a little bit!"  
"I know, it sucks doesn't it? Anyway, how do you like your eggs?"  
The two continued to make idle chatter, talking about their lives in between their last meeting, but Treya noticed Natsu was relatively private about most of it. She told herself that she'd make sure to dig answers out of him later, but for now, his company was enough.  
The rest of the house arose slowly, largely from their quiet chatter and the smell of breakfast, and eventually, everyone was up and ready to head to the guild.  
"Alright, onwards!" Natsu announced, leading the way back towards town. Unfortunately for him, he would be in for a rude awakening.  
The group of five mages and a flying blue cat, who sat on Treya's head, walked through town, though it was very unnerving. Everyone was watching them and whispering to each other.  
"Something happened," Natsu growled lightly, worried about the idle chatter. "I can hear it. Things like 'do you think they know?' and 'how terrible!' Not only that...but I smell blood."  
"Follow it. We must find out what happened," Erza ordered, receiving a nod from the alert slayer.  
"This is really bad, I know the scent now. HURRY!" he yelled, sprinting ahead. Soon the group arrived at the grisly sight of the Magnolia cherry blossom tree. "Damn you, Phantom…"  
"LEVY!" Lucy screamed, tears forming at the corners of her eyes.  
"Oh my god," Treya gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. Erza and Gray didn't speak, but both were enraged at the sight of their comrades. Happy was crying in Treya's arms.  
On the tree was Team Shadowgear, Levy McGarden, Sarusuke, who went by the name of Jet, and Droy were all strung up with iron in a pose of crucifixion. Luckily, they weren't nailed to it but simply cuffed. They were covered in scrapes, cuts, and bruises, their clothes tattered and torn. On all three of their stomachs were the logo of Phantom Lord painted in a dark purple ink.  
"Happy, go to the guild and make sure anyone in there gets here quickly. Gray and Lucy help me tend to these three. Erza, find Makarov, he needs to know about this," Natsu ordered. He received nods and affirmatives from everyone as they rushed out to do their respective tasks.  
"What about me?" Treya asked, still shocked at the sight of the three badly damaged mages.  
"I don't want you involved with this, Treya. For now, you can help us take care of these three, but you're not a mage. I can't risk you going anywhere without the protection of those I trust the most."  
"I'm not helpless, you know."  
"This is different, Treya. Please...I just got you back…" Natsu said sadly, as he continued to lower the three mages to the ground. Lucy ran off to find bandages and medical supplies, while Gray made several piles of ice to try and reduce some of their swelling. Natsu made sure they were all as comfortable as possible and oversaw Lucy and Treya's treatment of the wounds. Within twenty minutes, the entire guild was there, and Makarov began to walk through the crowd followed by Erza.  
His anger was palpable as his body shook with rage. The staff that the short old man carried around shattered in his grip as he looked at his guild with fury. "I can tolerate the damage of our home...Buildings can be rebuilt, and objects can be repurchased...But I WILL NOT tolerate harm coming to my children! Phantom Lord wants war, WAR SHALL COME TO THEM!" Makarov roared to the crowd.  
"Master," Natsu interrupted. "They want us to attack them. They are near begging for it. Regardless of the fact that this very well could be, and more than likely is, nothing but a trap, this is a war that must be fought. However, I will not be accompanying you on the front lines."  
"WHAT?"  
"YOU'RE ONE OF OUR STRONGEST MAGES!"  
"Natsu, what are you talking about?" Mira asked him, as the crowd continued to shout disagreements.  
"Jane...I know I told you he was dead, but perhaps it's time he came back to life to sing a little song…"  
"Natsu...you're going to-" she started.  
"Yes," he finished, staring at the sky. "SILENCE! You will all be fine. I expect greatness because I know you are capable of greatness. May the fury of a dragon rage through your blood and fight with the power of an untamed flame. I have business to attend to, but I will be with you in a way...It's time the crown doth rear his head once more…"  
As confused as they were, Makarov cut off their questions with his own inspirational speech, which got a loud cheer from the crowd. They all followed Makarov to storm the Phantom Lord guildhall in a war that would shake Fiore as two of the top three guilds battled for supremacy. Natsu stayed behind with Treya, Lucy, Happy, and, by his request, Mira.  
"Lucy and Treya, you two help Jane get Shadowgear back to the infirmary at the guild. As a favor to me, Jane, please protect Treya...I don't think I could take it if anything happened to her again…"  
"Don't worry, Natsu...Everything will be fine…" she replied, giving the fire mage a hug.  
"Don't let anything happen to you or Lucy either. If anything goes wrong, Happy will fly Treya away so you can protect yourselves. I can't lose anyone else…"  
Mira gave a smile before turning towards the unconscious mages.  
"Natsu, where are you going? And what were you talking about?" Treya asked as Natsu continued to walk away from the group.  
"In time, Treya, you shall learn the power of a dragon. For now, the crown that hath fallen upon the blood-soaked earth shall take its place anew...To burn in fury and rage…"  
"Wait! Natsu! I still don't understand when you talk like that!" Treya shouted after him. "Dammit, Natsu!"  
"It's probably better if you don't know yet, Treya…" Mira told her sadly.  
"I don't think I'll ever understand that guy…" Lucy said, sighing.  
"One of these days, big brother will sit down and tell me all the trouble he's no doubt gotten into over the years." Treya rubbed her face in frustration.  
"I'll help!" Mira told her with a giggle. "Now, let's get these three back to the guild, while our big scary dragon cleans up the mess."  
"Oh, Mavis...What is he gonna do?" Treya whined.

[Meanwhile - Phantom Lord]

"Mission accomplished, Master," a gruff voice spoke. "I made sure to leave the fairies whose wings I plucked with an extra surprise...Dragons like to mark their prey first, gihi."  
"Well done, Black Steel," another voice responded, giving a wicked smile. "I already sent the other two to pick up their target. Once the fairies get here, we'll make sure to enact our plan. Aria will deal with their pathetic excuse for a master, and you can take care of the Salamander. Once the cowards start running back to their trash heap of a guild, we can enact phase two for our second target."  
"Sounds fun, gihi. There's only enough room in the skies for one dragon, Salamander...Looks like I'll clip the wings of a fairy and a dragon in one fell swoop."


	24. The Twenty-Fourth

Phantom Lord Guildhall

"It's so sad! So sorrowful!" a large, dark-skinned man wept, tears pouring down from behind his bandaged eyes. He stands at a massive height, towering over even the taller members, and he wears a dark green coat with a blue and white stole draped over it. "When war begets us, the fallen is all that remains. Will these sorrowful eyes weep at the loss of mighty wizards, or will they show pride at the clipped wings; nothing remaining but a dragon's corpse?"  
"When will you stop being so creepy," another man grunted in response. He had long spiky black hair that went to his waist and wore a black sleeveless tunic, beige pants, and combat boots. To complete his appearance, he is adorned with metallic studs, primarily on his face, with three above each eyebrow, two on either side of his nose, two on his chin, and five on either ear. "Besides, Salamander ain't with 'em anyway. I might tangle with Titania, but the rest of the fairy scum ain't worth my time."  
"That nose of yours is really something else," a third replied. His most notable feature was his hair, being split in color between black and white, and tied up in a Japanese-style top knot. On his face there were a set of three black horizontal lines, crossing between his ears over the top of his nose. He wore a reddish-orange ninja-like outfit, with an extremely furry red color. "And do you really think you're one to call other people creepy, Gajeel?"  
"Shut it, Pyro, or I'll use you as a warmup for the rest of those fairy scum!" the second, now known as Gajeel, shot back with a glare.  
"How sorrowful!" the first wept, continuing to cry. "It's almost time for Master Josè's plan, I must take my leave!" With that, he disappeared as if he was the wind itself.  
"Man, that guy's weird…" Gajeel muttered.  
"Aria certainly does have a...unique...personality," the final man, Totomaru, said slightly nervously, not wanting to get on Gajeel's bad side.  
"Whatever. Unless Titania impresses me, you guys can have fun with the trash. I'm only interested in Salamander."  
The group had been idly talking amongst themselves on the second floor, patiently awaiting the attack by the fairies. Gajeel caught their scents approaching, and went out of sight to prepare for his battle with Salamander, only to notice a distinct lack of the fire slayer's scent. Totomaru and Aria, two of the element four, followed suit. Totomaru was just following them for the sake of following them, while Aria was awaiting the next phase of the plan.  
In the rest of the guild, the mages were talking and carrying on like normal. Some discussing recent jobs, some discussing the women they had seen and their HUGE tracts of land that they owned, and others were drinking copious amounts of alcohol, despite it being mid-afternoon.  
"Did you guys hear Gajeel went and messed up a couple of them fairy punks?"  
"Yeah, that trash is so pathetic! I'm heading off on a job now, maybe I'll get lucky and run into a few fairies on the way! I wouldn't mind clipping a few wings myself!"  
"Didn't you say that you got the reward increased?"  
"Yeah, I just threatened the old hag and she doubled it for me."  
"I could have gotten it tripled."  
"Whatever, punk. You're just pissed because that chick at the bar wouldn't sleep with you. I'm going on that job."  
The mage in question began to head towards the doors to the guild but was rather abruptly interrupted by the door itself. It was destroyed, shooting from its rightful place and colliding with him, sending him flying to the other end of the room unconscious.  
Among the confused shouts from the Phantom mages, and the dust sent out by the destroyed door, several people entered, led by a knight in brilliant armor and long scarlet hair.  
"FAIRY TAIL'S COME CALLING!" a group behind the knight roared, and a small army of Fairy Tail mages charged forward engaging in combat.  
They spread out in the hall, engaging the massive horde of mages. Phantom had an overwhelming numbers advantage, but every member of Fairy Tail was far stronger.  
Makarov grew to the height of the guild, smacking his way through the grunt waves with ease, using his titan magic. Screams of horror and yells of 'monster!' were called out as he decimated the ranks of Phantom. "YOU HARMED THIS MONSTER'S CHILDREN! DON'T THINK HUMAN LAWS WILL PROTECT YOU FROM MY WRATH!"  
Erza, brandishing her usual Heart Kruz armor and broadsword, charged forward as well, cutting her own path through the ranks. "You will be punished for attacking our guild!"  
On the right side of the guild, a fairly uncommon member was dealing with her own group of opponents using rather...unusual methods.  
"Get her! It's just a girl!"  
"All you perverts are disgusting!" she yelled in response. "Wood-make: The Dam of Shy Love!" With that strange declaration, a multitude of weapons made of wood rose from the ground, attacking many different mages.  
"Who said anything about perverts? And what the hell is a dam of shy love?" a Phantom yelled out.  
"DON'T THINK YOU'RE GETTING AWAY! WOOD-MAKE: THE DISTANCE BETWEEN TWO IS FOREVER!"  
"WHAT DOES THAT MEA-UGH!" the mage tried to yell out but was interrupted by several wooden hands and feet stomping him into the ground.  
That, ladies and gentlemen, was Fairy Tail's torture specialist Laki Olietta. No one really knows why she talks the way she does, but what they do know is that she holds a firm belief that all men are perverts and that torture is extremely entertaining. Her magic, as the name suggests, is wood-make; the same as our residential ice princess, except she uses wood.  
Several other groups were participating in the conquest as well, the duo of Macao and Wakaba performing exquisitely together, Gray launching a multitude of devastating ice spells, and Bisca and Alzack mowing down still more with their gun magic.  
With the fight looking one-sided, Makarov decided to proceed. "Erza! You're in charge! I'm finding Josè!" Shrinking back to normal size, the angered guild master begins ascending, releasing one of the many spells that got him the position of wizard saint in the first place...giant's wrath.  
"What's that power?"  
"That's almost as much as master Josè!"  
The Phantom mages began to panic, seeing as they were being easily defeated, and someone was emitting enormous amounts of magical power. "That's one of master's most feared spells; giant's wrath," Macao said with a smirk. "No one escapes the wrath of a monster like him."  
In the meantime, Totomaru had decided to engage someone who'd caught his interest, alongside Gajeel, who'd decided to engage Titania.  
"Allow me to introduce myself, ice wizard," he began, jumping down from the banisters he'd been standing on with Gajeel. "I am Totomaru of the-"  
"Ice-make: hammer!" Gray shouted, forming a hammer above his head.  
With a swipe of his hand, red fire shot up and melted it just before it reached him. "You could at least let me finish you know!" he shouted in annoyance.  
"I don't care who you are. You made an enemy of Fairy Tail and hurt our family. That means I have to take you down," Gray replied, getting into another stance, knowing that he might have to take this seriously.  
"That was Gajeel, though it was true that we agreed on the plan. My name is Totomaru of the Element Four, and master of fire," Totomaru said, introducing himself with pride. "No one on earthland has a mastery of fire like I do."  
"Really? Well from where I'm standing, your fire doesn't feel that hot to me! Let's see which is stronger; your fire or my ice?" Gray challenged, glaring at the fire mage.  
Just as the fight between those two began, Erza was quickly forced to block a metal pole that was shot at her from the side. "Looks like I got stuck with you, Titania," Gajeel grunted when she turned to glare at him. "Where's Salamander? Heard that pyro has some real magic behind him, but there can only be one dragon in these skies."  
"How do you know about that?" Erza shot back, glaring at him. "No one outside of Fairy Tail knows about his magic."  
"I know a dragon's fire when I see it, Titania. So tell me, was Salamander just too scared to show up to face the strongest dragon slayer and get taught a lesson?"  
"You are not worthy to speak his name, Black Steel!" Erza roared, charging at him with a sword. "You will pay for what you have done to our guild!"  
Upstairs, Makarov continued to ascend; climbing ever closer to where he believed the guild master was currently staying. "JOSÈ! STOP THIS AT ONCE! WE SHOULD NOT BE ENDANGERING THE LIVES OF OUR CHILDREN FOR THIS FOOLISHNESS!" he shouted in a rage, destroying the door to the final room of the guild.  
"Ah, Makarov!" Josè said with a sneer. "It's nice to see you again. It's been nearly seven years since we last saw each other. I really couldn't hold my liquor then, now could I?"  
"Cease your blathering, Josè! Because of this foolishness, my children are being harmed!" Makarov yelled, enlarging an arm and swatting the Phantom master.  
"Really now, Makarov? Surely you haven't gone that senile?" he replied, as the attack had gone right through.  
"A thought projection?" The Fairy Tail master asked in shock.  
"I expected better of you, Makarov. Oh, how you've fallen!"  
"How sorrowful! The fall of such a mighty wizard will soon come!" Aria cried, appearing behind the saint from seemingly thin air.  
'What? When did he get there?' Makarov thought in shock, but it was too late.  
"METSU!" Aria shouted, placing both palms on the back of the light wizard. Almost instantly, copious amounts of magic shot out of the old man, filling the air of the room harmlessly, as his skin turned a sickly green. "How sorrowful!"  
"Very well done, Aria. Now, why don't you send the rest of the fairies a little present while I figure out why Juvia and Sol haven't returned yet?"  
With that, the thought projection of the Phantom Lord master disappeared, leaving a sobbing Aria and an unconscious nearly-dead Fairy Tail master alone in the room.  
"Oh, how sorrow begets us in times of war!" With a blast of wind, Aria shot Makarov through the floor all the way to the ground below causing a massive crash wave of dust.  
"MASTER!" Erza shouted, distracting herself from Gajeel momentarily.  
"Don't look away from your opponent, Titania!" Gajeel shouted, shooting her across the room with an iron dragon's club attack.  
"Look! Their master's been defeated!"  
"Yeah, we can win now! Half their fighting force is down!"  
"LET'S GET THEM!" the mages of Phantom Lord roared, as they charged forward with a newfound strength.  
Running over to Makarov, Erza discovered the sickly green color of her master and sensed no traces of magic. "EVERYONE! RETREAT!"  
"What? No way we're backing out now!"  
"Retreating is NOT MANLY!"  
"THAT'S AN ORDER! THE MASTER IS BADLY INJURED!" she demanded, desperately trying to fight back tears. "Please!"  
The Fairy Tail mages hesitantly started to back up until they caught sight of their master, and then they begrudgingly accepted the order into a full-blown retreat. The worse-for-wear Elfman carried the master while Erza and Gray covered their retreat.  
"Tch. What a bunch of trash. Titania was hardly worth my time," Gajeel grunted angrily.  
"That ice wizard kept interrupting me…" Totomaru grouched, as he watched the fairies retreat.  
"Get the grunts going. Josè's gonna be here any minute. I gotta get the hall ready."  
"How sorrowful!" cried Aria, appearing out of nowhere.  
"STOP DOING THAT!"

Elsewhere

Agonizing groans of pain, crumbling of stone, and the crackling of wood echoed throughout the hall. The footsteps of one man walked forward and took their flag. It was a large black pendant, with a midnight purple symbol. A curled, tail-like design spiraled up to meet a curved design, making a crescent under and surrounding a large filled-in circle. On either side of the tail attached to the curve was a spike, and the design overall was made to appear threatening and intimidating.  
"When a crown doth sit on the heads of cowards, all that remains are the ashes of those who could not live up to the expectations of superior flames. Learn this lesson well, Phantom, and perhaps I shall not return." With that, the figure left the guild smoldering and in shambles, leaving a mark emblazoned into the ground in white flames.  
The few conscious mages struggled to stand, desperately trying to fight the pain they were in.  
"Who the fuck was that?" one groaned out.  
"Why was he here?" another nervously replied.  
"You know that guy?"  
"No one does...he's one of the most legendary bounty hunters of all time, but I've never heard of something like this. He doesn't go after light guilds."  
"You two stop your blabbering and bring me some fuckin' ice!" a third moaned out.  
"Shut up, you prick!" the first grunted back.  
"That was him...without a doubt…" the second said, after crawling over to inspect the mark left on the ground. "The White Crown."  
Earlier That Day - Fairy Tail Infirmary  
"How are they doing?" Mira asked, reentering the room with several cups of water.  
"Jet and Droy got the worst of it," Lucy said, standing up. "But all of them should be ok."  
"Do you know why someone would do something like this?" Treya asked. "Destroying a guildhall over a rivalry is one thing, but putting three members into the hospital?"  
"I think Natsu was right, and that they just wanted us to attack them. I'm worried about Elf and Lisanna, this whole thing could be a trap," Mira said worriedly.  
"Aye. But don't worry, we have Natsu!" Happy declared confidently.  
"But Happy, he's not fighting with them," Treya said curiously.  
"There are many different ways to fight, and there are many different fronts to a war," Happy explained, in a rare moment of seriousness.  
"Since when did you get so smart, cat?" Lucy questioned.  
"It's because he spends all that time with Natsu. Something has to stick eventually," Mira giggled.  
"It's because fish makes you smarter! And I eat lots and lots of fish!" Happy exclaimed.  
"You're just the same little furball, aren't you?" Treya sighed, smiling at the cat.  
"Aye, sir!"  
"Lucy, I need to head to the market to get some supplies. Would you mind keeping an eye on everyone here?" Mira asked.  
"Sure thing, Mira!" Lucy chirped. "But are you sure you don't want someone to come with you?"  
"No thanks, I'll be ok. Besides, if you came with me, we wouldn't have any mages to keep an eye on Shadowgear."  
"At least bring Happy with you," Treya requested.  
"Aye, sir!"  
"I guess that sounds ok. Alright, Happy, let's go. We can get you a few fish while we're out, ok?"  
"Yay! Fish!" The conscious Fairy Tail members chuckled at this while Mira and Happy left the building and headed towards the market.  
A short time later, Happy was still describing in detail the various types of fish he plans on getting and the various escapades he's had with rare fish.  
"-and after that, Natsu found the tastiest and rarest fish ever; the bluffing moona!" Happy explained with great enthusiasm.  
"I think you mean the bluefin tuna, Happy, and that's the fourth fish you said was the tastiest," Mira told him.  
"That's not my fault! Almost all fish are equally tasty."  
"That's strange…" Mira muttered. "Rain. It was sunny just a minute ago…"  
"Drip drip drop," a voice in front of her spoke in a flat tone. "Juvia is the rain woman who brings rain. Tell me; what do you bring?"  
"I'm sorry?" Mira asked in a confused way. The woman in front of her had long blue hair, that curled into a perfect loop at the ends. She held a pink umbrella and a Russian-style hat to protect herself from the rain. She wore a sapphire blue coat and a cream-colored fur-trimmed navy blue shawl with a pure white teru teru bōzu doll attached to it.  
"Juvia wishes you a good day. Farewell," and the woman, presumably named Juvia, turned to walk away.  
"Non non non," a new figure said, appearing from the ground. He was tall and slender, reminiscent of a tube man, with spiky green hair and a small, pointy green mustache. He wore a brown suit with a red tie and held a monocle over his right eye. "Non non non. Non non non non non non non. Salut with 'non' in a 3-3-7 rhythm."  
"Monsieur Sol," Juvia said in surprise.  
"Oui en effet, mademoiselle," the man known as 'Sol' replied. "While not our intended, this is none other than Lady Mirajane, the second and most powerful of our cibles."  
"Juvia was instructed to obtain Lady Lucy Heartfilia, not Lady Mirajane," Juvia informed the man.  
"Ah, but master Josè would be rather pleased if we captured either of his cibles, non?"  
"Juvia does not wish to stray from the master's plan, so Juvia will continue to search for the target."  
"Target? Wait, you two are from the element four!" Mirajane exclaimed after watching their interaction.  
"Ah, tres biene! Very good! You may refer to me as Monsieur Sol," he introduced himself.  
"What do you mean target? And what does this have to do with Lucy?" Mira demanded, putting herself into a combat stance, while Happy flew to a roof to observe in order to make further decisions later.  
"Non non non! I'm afraid that information is classifiè!" Sol exclaimed. "Juvia, you may keep searching for Miss Hearfilia. I shall deal with mademoiselle Mirajane here."  
"Very well, monsieur Sol. Do not underestimate our targets. Juvia will be going now." With that, the rain woman left.  
"So, if I want answers, I'll just have to beat them out of you. Is that it?" Mira threatened, glaring at the earth mage who declared her a target.  
"Oui, you may certainly try, mademoiselle, but I assure you, you stand no chance against one of Phantom's Element Four."  
"Happy, go make sure that Lucy and Treya are safe. I'll make sure to deal with this myself," Mira told the cat, preparing herself for battle.  
"Aye, sir!" and the cat flew off.  
"Non non non! I do not think sending your ally away was wise! Very well then, we shall begin! Sable Dance!" Sol called, unleashing a sandstorm around Mirajane.  
"Is this supposed to be an attack?" Mira scoffed, taking little to no damage from the sand-based move. "Satan Soul!"  
"Ah, magnific! The Demon Mirajane's Satan Soul!" Sol commented as the transformation dispelled his sand. "I would have been disappointed if you had taken damage from my weakest spell. Roche Concerto!"  
A barrage of large rocks shot out of the ground at Mirajane, who used her Satan Souls superior speed and flight ability to dodge most of them, and her powerful punches to destroy the last few. "Darkness Stream!" she called out, launching a barrage of black magical tendrils at her opponent.  
"Mur de Terre!" yelled Sol, erecting a thick barrier of earth in front of him. Many of the tendrils impacted the wall, denting and cracking it, and the rest landed near him causing several explosions. "Compacteur de Terre!"  
A series of walls started erecting around Mirajane and rocketed towards her. "EVIL EXPLOSION!" Mira called, shooting an orb of black magic into the ground, destroying almost all of the walls and leveling a few nearby buildings. Afterward, she shot forward intent on engaging in melee combat with her opponent.  
The two traded blows, Mira launching a darkness-encased right fist which was avoided by his extreme flexibility. He countered by encasing his own left fist in stone and going for a left haymaker. Mira grabbed his fist and managed to land a kick to his stomach which knocked him back slightly, but dealt minimal damage because he coated the spot in more earth before impact.  
"Tres bien, madame! I may have to take this seriously!" Sol declared. "Roche Concerto!"  
"If this is serious, I don't want to know how weak the rest of Phantom Lord is," Mira shot back, continuing to dodge and destroy the stones with ease.  
"Plâtre Sonata!" Sol called, erecting a massive fist made of stone from the center of his body and impacting Mirajane, launching her across the street into a wall. "Non non non! It appears you're the weak one here! Truly sad, after all this time you're still just as weak as you were all those years ago. That's why you lost your parents, non?"  
Mira's eyes widened as she got out of the wall. "HOW DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT?" she roared, launching herself forward. "Evil Spark!"  
Sol easily avoided the attack by merging with the earth and reappearing a ways away. "Oui, you were but a young child then, non?"  
"STOP TALKING! HOW DID YOU FIND OUT ABOUT THAT?" Mira roared. "DEMON BLAST!"  
Once again Sol easily avoided the blast of dark magic. "That's why you decided to join a guild! Oui, it all makes sense now! The demon was a façade to hide your weakness!"  
"SHUT UP! EVIL EXPLOSION!"  
"I think it's time you relive those moments again! Look in the mirror and see yourself for how weak you truly are! Merci la Vie!" A large magic circle erupted behind the demon, flooding her mind with the darkness of her past. She floated to the ground, her eyes white, and began to tremble as she relived every hellish moment of her life so far.  
"Oui! Do you see it now? Do you see yourself as the weak girl your parents knew you were?" Sol taunted, as he approached the demon who was slowly but surely being encased by stone.

In Mira's Mind

It was raining that day. She could remember it so vividly as if she was watching over the moments all over again.

She was walking home from the market when a series of screams and explosions rang out from the local church. Mira knew that something was wrong, so she raced over.  
"Run!"  
"It's going to kill us all!"  
"A demon! There's a demon in the church!"  
Crowds were running past her, but she didn't care. Her two younger siblings, Lisanna and Elfman, were at the church that day. Nothing was more important than their safety.  
"Lisanna! Elfman!" she cried as she finally reached the church. "Where are you!"  
"MIRA!" Lisanna screamed from inside the church. "AHHHHH!"  
BOOOM  
"LISANNA!" Mira yelled back, racing into the church. There, in front of Lisanna, was a terrifying demon. It had a long scaly tail, golden claws, a red-scaled body, and a noticeable scar over one eye.  
"Well, well, well…" the demon spoke, in a deep and intimidating voice. "Looks like I get to slaughter two more young ones today. And they're a matching set! Oh, you humans truly spoil me!"  
"Let my sister go!" Mira demanded, trying not to show any ounce of fear to the demon.  
"And why, pray tell, would I do that? I'm sure you'll both be plenty of fun to kill. However, you look so very determined. I think I'll start with you. I'm sure you won't mind that, would you?" the demon asked, giving a wicked sneer at Mirajane.  
"No! Mira!" Lisanna cried. "Don't hurt her!"  
The demon shot forward and reared back its claws to swing. As he swiped his massive talons, Mira squeezed her eyes shut and prepared to die. To soak in her own blood and die in front of her sister. 'Hopefully, she has enough time to run away…'  
A shot of blood covered her face and clothes, but for some reason, she felt no pain. When she slowly opened her eyes again, she gasped. Standing in front of her was her own mother.  
"MAMA!" Lisanna screamed. The demon had scratched straight across, leaving three deep gouges across her face and torso, leaving her arm barely attached to the rest of her.  
"Please, Mira…" she hoarsely whispered, as she began to collapse. "Take care of your brother and sister for me."  
"MOTHER!" Mira yelled out, tears welling up in her eyes.  
"Well, isn't that sweet? You humans are the most amusing things to me. Always willing to die for each other. Tell me this, human. Once you've died, what's stopping me from killing everyone else? All that changed is now she died too. I guess that's fine, now I have three matching corpses. Maybe I'll bring them with me…" the demon mused.  
"NO! NO! NO!" Mira screamed, grabbing her head. "YOU WILL NOT TOUCH MY SISTER!" Power surged from the girl as the ground trembled slightly, and she writhed in pain.  
"Hmmm?" the demon hummed in confusion. "What are you doing, girl?"  
"STAY AWAY FROM MY SISTER!" she roared, as her power spiked further.  
"WHAT IS THIS?" the demon yelled, as it could feel its very essence being sucked away. "THIS IS TAKEOVER MAGIC! HOW COULD A CHILD USE SUCH A THING?"  
"AHHHHHHHH!" Mira shrieked again.  
"I WILL NOT BE TAKEN OVER BY A MEASLY CHILD!" the demon roared, as it was slowly pulled into Mirajane. "YOU WILL NOT WIN! I AM A DEMON! NO HUMAN CAN DEFEAT ME, THE MIGHTY K-"  
With that, the demon was finally sucked away, its very essence pulled into the girl.  
"MIRA!" Lisanna yelled, as she ran over to her sister, who had collapsed.  
She awoke the next day, and the three siblings mourned the loss of their mother. However, their father was far less understanding when he saw the consequences of Mira protecting her sister.  
"YOU DEMON!" he yelled out, seeing Mira's arm for the first time.  
"Big sis isn't a demon, papa," Lisanna protested.  
"She's a freak!" the father insisted and ran out of the house.  
"He's right…" Mira whispered as tears ran down her face. "I'm a demon...and a monster…"  
"You're not a monster big sis!" Elfman insisted. "You protected Lisanna!"  
"BUT LOOK AT ME!" she shouted, holding up her purple, scaled appendage. "THIS IS THE ARM OF A MONSTER! OF A DEMON! I'M JUST SOME FREAK!"  
The rest of that day flashed past Mira's mind, the hours of crying over the death of her mother that died for her because she was too weak to do anything to help her sister alone.  
At the end of the day, their father had gotten the rest of the village together. They mobbed the house the siblings stayed at, throwing stones through the windows and demanding that the demon come out to be killed.  
Hours of this continued. The taunting and the throwing of stones. Eventually, their father entered the house with a pitchfork in hand. "GET OUT HERE, DEMON!"  
"MIRA IS NOT A DEMON!" Lisanna shouted, hugging her sister.  
"You're no better than the demon if you protect the demon!" their father insisted, approaching the trio. "I will not have people knowing that my children became demons! Begone!" He raised the pitchfork and aimed it for the youngest of the three.  
"NO! STAY AWAY FROM MY SISTER!" Mira yelled, holding up her demon hand in fear. Unconsciously in defense of the three of them, a blast of purple magic shot out of her hand blasting a hole straight through his chest.  
"Monster…" he croaked out, before collapsing backward and bleeding out onto the floor.  
"PAPA! NO!" Mira wailed, rushing over to her father. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"  
"THE DEMON KILLED HIM!"  
"STAY BACK DEMON!"  
The crowd got worse as they cowered in a corner, terrified of the giant mob of villagers.  
"What should we do, Mira?" Lisanna asked, sniffling with tears pouring down her face.  
"I'll just go out there...they'll leave you two alone. They just want me…" Mira said, and stood up to confront the crowd so her siblings could live.  
"No!" Elfman demanded, firmly gripping her shoulder. That shocked Mira as Elfman had always been a relatively timid child. "Both mom and dad lost their lives today. We won't lose you too!"  
"But if I stay all three of us will die!" Mira wailed.  
"With dad gone, I'm the man of the family now! And it's a man's job to protect his family!" Elfman insisted. "We can sneak out the back and run away. Do you think you can try to use your magic again?"

The images of her mother dying in front of her, of her father trying to kill her siblings, and then her accidentally killing him instead flashed in front of her eyes. They swarmed her vision, plagued her thoughts, and tormented her mind.

Back Outside

In real-time, it had only been around thirty seconds, but for Mira, it felt like days. Stuck in her own personally customized hellscape.  
"It appears, mademoiselle, that you have been bested. Soon, my lovely cible, you shall accompany me to master-"  
Crack  
"Excusez-moi?" he questioned in confusion, as the rock that had slowly been creeping up Mira's form began to crack.  
With a roar of anger, the stone exploded outwards leaving a furious Mirajane. "HOW DARE YOU?!"  
"Non non non! How did you escape!" Sol questioned, now trembling in fear as he slowly backed away.  
"YOU! YOU DESPICABLE, VILE CREATURE!" Mira yelled. "SATAN SOUL: HALPHAS!" Mirajane glowed in golden light for a moment, before revealing her in her new form. In place of the red-scaled garment, she now wore a dark blue one-piece with light blue stripes and a cutout over her stomach. She had a thick, sky blue, scaly tail, sky blue gauntlets that went to her elbows and had fin-like protrusions, and sky blue armor that covered her legs up to her thighs. On her back were massive angel wings that matched the rest of her outfit, and her eyes changed to a darker shade of blue.  
"Qu'est-ce que c'est?" Sol asked, terrified at the new form. "I have never seen this form before!"  
"This form has been banned from use by Master Makarov. Few have ever seen it," Mira explained. "However, your cruelty deserves the might of Halphas."  
As Mira began to channel magic in one hand, Sol continued to back up and shake his hands in front of him. "Non! I'm sure we can talk about this like civilized people. What do you say, mademoiselle? Let's be reasonable!"  
"Halphas Blast," she replied simply, unleashing a monstrous torrent of blue and purple energy that enveloped the earth mage, causing a massive explosion of earth, rocks, and dust. The man screamed in pain as he was shot into the crater, and by the time the dust cleared, he was knocked out completely unconscious. She flew over and grabbed the man by the back of the shirt before flying back towards Fairy Tail. "Disgusting."  
By the time she returned to the guildhall, Treya, Lucy, and Happy were all nervously awaiting her arrival.  
"MIRA!" Happy wailed, flying straight into her arms.  
"I'm alright, Happy," she said, unceremoniously dropping the earth mage from ten feet in the air, before landing and reforming into her original form. "I'm alright…"  
"Then why were you using Halphas, Mira?" Happy questioned, looking at Mira with some tears still in his eyes.  
"What's Halphas?" Treya asked, earning a shrug of confusion from Lucy.  
"Halphas is the second strongest of my satan soul forms," Mira explained. "That's what my magic is, by the way. I can take over the souls of demons and use them in combat. Halphas was banned by the master, so none of you will tell anyone that I used it. Is that clear?"  
"Yes, ma'am!" Lucy quickly shot back, terrified of Mira's death glare.  
"That's good," Mira replied, switching back to her sweet smile. "Now why don't we tie this one up with some magic sealing cuffs and wait for the rest of Fairy Tail to come back."


	25. The Twenty-Fifth

Fairy Tail Guildhall

Defeat reeks of blood and tastes of the worst booze you could imagine. The stench of failure permeated through the basement of the Fairy Tail guild; Lucy, Treya, Happy, and anyone else that was able were tending to the many wounded mages. Fortunately, no one was injured critically, but more than a few suffered sprains, severe cuts, and major bruising that would make any form of strenuous activity more than a bit painful for the next several days.

Mira was attempting to help take care of the other wounded, however, Erza and Lisanna were quite adamant that the white-haired demon needed to rest. Mira had been off active duty for a year, only recently returning, and she was immediately forced into combat, even using Halphas, which was an extremely draining spell. What she hadn't mentioned, however, was why she used Halphas. When the rest of the guild returned, barring Bisca, Alzack, and Makarov, who had gone to Porlyusica's residence, she simply informed them of what she knew; two of Phantom's Element Four had attempted to kidnap her and potentially Lucy and that she managed to defeat Sol while the second had gone in search of the blonde.

Most were furious at the notion that they would dare attempt to kidnap their mages, but none more so than Elfman. If it weren't for his broken arm and the three guild members assigned to prevent him from leaving, he likely would have gone to Phantom alone to beat some sense into them for daring to take his sister away.

Erza felt disappointed in herself; Natsu had left fully confident in them, and what had she done? She let the guild down. She allowed herself to be on the losing end of a battle with Gajeel and she allowed her very own master to go and nearly get killed on his own. These angry thoughts swirled around in her head while she put up her usual stern front to prevent anyone from getting in.

Treya was scared. She had just found her long-lost foster brother, the only family she had left and the most important person in her life, and she had no idea where he was. Caught up in a guild war; scared for her life, scared for the life of the friends she had just made, scared for the life of her favorite dragon slayer, and scared that the gift she had been given would be taken away again. The gift of happiness.

However, the Fairy Tail members are all ones with demons of their own. Their lives had been anything but full of joy; many had been abandoned, had their family killed, or been ostracized because of who or what they were. It is because of this that they are always able to push past any struggle brought to them, and this was simply another hurdle they had to jump. It wouldn't be easy, but they were determined to keep their own safe from any harm that could befall them.

"I can't believe they took down gramps!" Gray growled to himself, slamming a fist into a table. "We were so close to beating them too! I say we go back and finish what we started!"

"Gray! Calm down!" Erza ordered. "No one is satisfied with the outcome, but we simply cannot risk any more harm coming to our members. Do you want to be responsible for their deaths?"

"No, it's just-"

"Then silence yourself. What's done is done, we must prepare for what's to come."

"Has Sol woken up yet?" Mira asked.

"Not yet," Laki responded with a devious nigh evil smirk. "When he does I'll make sure to get some real information out of that pervert."

"Do you have any idea what they wanted with us, Mira?" Lucy asked nervously.

"Not a clue," she replied sadly. "I think we should be glad that Sol got a bit cocky though. According to the other one, their mission was to take you, Lucy. I was supposed to be captured later. If they had gone for you while I had been out…"

"Are you sure we shouldn't at least try to contact Laxus?" Wakaba asked.

"Not a chance!" Cana snapped back. "It's not like he'd help us."

"I agree with Cana," Erza nodded. "I have faith in the members we have here. Besides, we have Natsu on our side."

"Where is flame-brain anyway?" Gray asked. "After they hurt Levy and tried to kidnap Mira, you'd think he would be on the front lines by now."

"I don't think he knows about Mira yet," Erza replied, shaking her head. "And I'm afraid I don't know, but I have faith he'll be here when we need him. He always has been before, hasn't he?"

Grumbles of agreement rang out in response, many members reminded of how he'd helped them in the past. Some were as simple as him helping with rent when jobs were a bit short, some he was a source of friendship, and some, like Gray, he helped with their shattered pasts.

"What about the cat?" Macao asked. "You got any idea where he's at, Happy?"

"There are many fronts to a war. Natsu is simply on a different battlefield," Happy responded wisely for the second time that day.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."  
"DID THE CAT JUST SAY SOMETHING SMART?"

"WHAT DID THAT MEAN?"  
"MAN, I'VE REALLY LOST IT NOW!" the guild members shouted in shock at the fish-loving cat, who, until this point, served mostly as a source of amusement for the rest of the guild.

Mira giggled a bit. "I think you guys are forgetting who Happy spends most of his time with."

Several members opened their mouths to protest but quickly shut them again, realizing that she had a very valid point.

"I just hope everyone will be ok," Treya said sadly.

"Don't worry about it," Erza told her confidently. "I'm sure everything will be just-"

RUMBLE RUMBLE

"GUYS!" Nab yelled out, running down the stairs. "Get outside, now! We've got trouble!"

The entire guild ran up the stairs to head outside, only to behold a sight of terror. It was the Phantom Lord guildhall, the same one they had just stormed. A massive castle, sat upon an even bigger set of earth, the bottom covered in stones that jutted out like daggers. Large, metallic legs stuck out from the machine, making it appear as if some sort of spider-like creature had come for them.

Fear. Practically the only emotion felt by the entirety of Fairy Tail was fear. The essence of fear they were well-versed in, and now it coursed through their veins like blood. Here they were; beaten, broken, and without morale, only to be crushed by those who opposed them.

"Well, well, well," a voice echoed out from the guild before them. "I must say, Makarov's pathetic brats are almost better than the flies I had anticipated...almost."

"Josè!" Erza roared back. "What is it you want from us?"  
"Ah, if it isn't Titania, Queen of the Fairies. I must say, I expected more from you. What I desire is rather simple, but the process in which I acquire it is largely up to you," Josè explained. "You have two options. Surrender Mirajane Strauss and Lucy Heartfilia to me and I shall leave your guild in peace, or be completely decimated by my Magical Convergence Canon: Jupiter!"

"What do you want with them, you filthy beast?" Erza growled back.

"Not that it's any of your concern, Titania, but I happen to have two very wealthy people paying me for their collection. I believe Miss Strauss is to become a bride to a very wealthy corporation, and poor Miss Heartfilia's father simply misses his daughter."  
"TRYING TO FORCE MY SISTER INTO MARRYING SOMEONE IS NOT A MAN!" Elfman roared, even more furious than before.

"Why would my father want anything from me now?" Lucy angrily whispered to herself, fist clenched.

"We would never give up our comrades! Besides, you can't fire the Jupiter Canon! The blast runs the risk of eliminating your so-called 'targets,' and we have one of your Element Four unconscious in our guild," Erza declared confidently.  
"Are you fully certain of that, Titania? I'm afraid if they fall in the line of duty there is nothing to be done, and you don't honestly think I care about that trash you have holed up in that garbage heap you consider a guild, do you? Failures have no place in Phantom Lord," Josè responded harshly. "Now, either give up Mirajane Strauss and Lucy Heartfilia or say goodbye to all of your guild members and your precious guildhall."

"I'll go, Erza," Lucy said softly. "This is my father's fault. None of you should have to be involved."

"I thought I told you already!" Erza roared, ignoring Lucy. "Fairy Tail is a family, and we would rather die than give up on our family!"

"Protecting your family is the job of a REAL MAN!" Elfman yelled.

"You tell 'em, Red!" Cana cheered.

"Aye, sir!" Happy agreed.

The cheers of agreement continued to ring out from the guild, while Josè sat in his guild seething in rage.

"Happy, take Treya and anyone too injured to fight and get away from here," Erza ordered. "Reedus, go with them."

"Oui," the rounded picto-magic mage responded, and a small group of people began to retreat.  
"Oh? All that bravado and yet you're already retreating! Sad to see, really."

"Unlike you, we care about the safety of our members, and many are too injured to continue fighting," Erza shot back.

"Very well, Titania, though your cowardice will not keep you safe. I warned you. Now! Fire the Magical Convergence Canon: Jupiter!" The large, copper-colored cannon that jutted out from the guildhall began to glow with magical power.

"Everyone! Get behind me!" Erza ordered, charging forward. "Requip! Adamantine armor!"

"Is she insane?"

"That's Erza's strongest defensive armor!"

"She's gonna try to block it?"  
"That's too much even for Erza!"

"Don't think I'm letting you do this, tin can," Mira said, placing a hand on Erza's shoulder and smirking. "Not alone at least. Takeover: Satan Soul!"

"Glad to have you behind me, demon wench," Erza replied, slamming her massive spiked shields together. The adamantine armor consisted of extremely thick armor, decorated in whites, grays, and dark blues. It sported full-body armor, massive, spiked shoulder guards, a helmet, and two powerful shields, capable of combining into one immensely powerful defense. "Adamantine Full Defense!"

The canon then fired, launching a massively thick black and purple beam of raw magical energy straight towards Fairy Tail. The water beneath it rippled, and waves began to crash against the shoreline from the pressure.

"Soul Extinctor!" Mira yelled, firing an offensive spell to counteract as much of the blast as possible. Though she poured immense amounts of magic into the spell, it had very little effect. Perhaps it was just enough, however, as the defensive spell held by Erza was holding back the blast, though cracks continuously appeared within her shield as it continued to beat down on her.

"They're doing it!"

"Yeah, come on, Erza! You've got this!" The Fairy Tail mages cheered as loud as they could, their previous fear all but eliminated from the inspiring words and actions by their Fairy Queen.

After a rigorous, yet brief, battle against the blast, Erza was shot back by the pressure, though she did her job. Just as her defensive spell was defeated, the blast ceased to fire. She had done it. With the help of an exhausted Mirajane, she had blocked the blast from a Jupiter canon.

Over the roar of approval from the guild, Mira approached the collapsed form of Erza. "Is...that...all you've...got," she asked between breaths. "I could...have done that...all day…"

"Hardly…" she panted back, smirking. "A demon whore...like you...didn't stand a chance…"

Helping her rival to her feet, Mira took the exhausted form of Erza and helped her walk back to the rest of the guild members. "I'm taking Erza with the rest of the injured, and then I'll-"

"You'll stay there," Lisanna insisted. "You've done more than enough, big sis. Let us take care of the rest."  
"But, Lisanna-" she tried to protest.

"RAAGHH! A REAL MAN PROTECTS HIS SISTERS FROM GETTING MARRIED!" Elfman roared.

"I hope you don't mean to say that I'm not allowed to get married when I want to, Elfman," Mira challenged.

"Uh, yeah! A real man supports his sister's wishes!" he replied nervously.

"Good! Now if you'll excuse me…" With that, Mira limped away, the arm of a battered knight slung over her shoulder.

"Well done, Titania. And the Demon Mirajane, too. It appears that the rumors are true, she really has come out of retirement. A pity, though, that your last hope just wasted all their precious energy and strength to delay the inevitable. You've bought yourself a measly fifteen minutes before Jupiter is ready to fire again. Until then, Fairy Tail," Josè taunted, a sneer undoubtedly on his face.

"Alright listen up!" Cana roared. "We may be down a few S-Class mages, but we're not out of the fight yet! This isn't a fight for ourselves, it's a fight to protect our family! Who's with me?"

A cheer of approval rang out from the guild. Cana's speech was just in time too, as immediately after they began to cheer, dozens upon dozens of Josè's shade troops began pouring out of the hall, as well as their remaining low-mid class mages. The clear threat was the shades, as it was painfully obvious that most if not all of the mages charging them were in no condition to be fighting anything.

"I'm going to take out the cannon!" Gray shouted, making a beeline for their castle.

"Defeating the Element Four is a REAL MAN!" Elfman roared, chasing after them.

"I'll come with you, big brother Elf," Lisanna volunteered, following the two mages.

"The rest of you! We'll hold back the shades!" Cana ordered, getting a cheer of approval.

"Ice-make: Stairs!" Gray called, building a stairwell that led straight to the barrel of the cannon. "Come on, let's go!"

The group of mages charged down the barrel of the cannon, intending to destroy the power source rather than attempting to destroy something that was able to withstand the pressure of a Jupiter blast. Gray led the way followed closely behind by the two Strauss sisters.

Meanwhile

"Here we are, Carla!" a small girl announced, stepping off the train.

"I still don't understand why we're here, child. I keep telling you that you're on a wild goose chase." the girl's companion scolded.

"I know that, Carla. It's not Grandine...but I definitely smelled something draconic, and they got off here! I'm sure of it!" the girl announced confidently.

"If you aren't looking for Grandine, child, what are you looking for?"

"I don't know exactly," the girl admitted, scratching her head in embarrassment. "But this is the closest lead to Grandine I've had since I started looking eight years ago."

"Very well, child, I just hate to see you disappointed…" the companion sighed. "Well, let's go."

Back inside the Phantom Lord Guild

"It's you again!" Gray yelled out.

"Ah, so you remember me!" the man answered, bowing deeply. The group was in a large, circular room. The surface the three Fairy Tail mages were on was slightly above that which the Phantom Lord mage stood. There was a distinct lack of anything interesting in the room, barring the gigantic lacrima crystal that their opponent was standing in front of. The crystal had a diameter that was at least four times the height of any mage currently present, and had an intimidating aura to it, though the crystal itself was a translucent white. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance again. For you two that have not met me, allow me to introduce myself. I am Totomaru of the-"

"Ice-make: Hammer!" Gray yelled out,

Like déjà vu, the same thing happened again. Totomaru simply waved a hand, melting the ice away with very little effort. "WHY DO YOU KEEP CUTTING ME OFF?!" he yelled at the ice mage.

"Because I don't care!" Gray said back, preparing another ice-make spell. "Ice-make: Lance!"

"Beast Arm: Black Bull!" Elfman roared, transforming his right arm into a muscled, black appendage. As the name suggests, it appeared similar to that of a black bull and increased Elfman's strength and power several times over.

"Animal Soul: Cat!" Lisanna announced. She glowed yellow for a brief moment, before revealing her new form. Well, it was less a form as it was an outfit. She wore a blue and black striped bikini, complete with a tail, cat ears, and a transformed arm that bore razor-sharp claws. This form may look adorable, but it increased her speed and allowed her to do incredible amounts of damage with her claws.

While Gray's lances shot forward, Elfman charged past Gray's right side while Lisanna charged past his left, intent on overwhelming the experienced fire mage.

"Tch," he scoffed at the disrespect. "Flame wall!" Constructing a barrier of flames in front of him, he melted the ice lances that had attacked him and used the extra time and cover to easily avoid the attacks from the Strauss siblings. "Fire Wave!"

Lisanna used her enhanced speed to grab her brother, as the two dodged the wave of orange flames that had attempted to char them.

"Ice-make: Sword!" Gray announced, forming a sword of ice and charging the fire mage.

"Swordplay, eh? Very well, young ice mage. Let's duel!" Totomaru declared, drawing a steel sword of his own and meeting the charge.

The two clashed swords, seeming the be equally matched in power, though Totomaru was using one hand while Gray was using two.

"Cat Claw!" Lisanna yelled, dashing at the fire mage.

Totomaru dislodged his sword from Gray's and jumped over Lisanna's swipe, blocking her second with his sword. Gray quickly attempted to capitalize on his lack of an available sword, but the fire-wielder was not one to be taken down easily, creating a solid shield of flames with his other hand to block the ice sword, which quickly began to melt.

"MAN PUNCH!" Elfman roared, rearing back and attempting to strike the fire mage from behind.

Totomaru jumped just before being struck, however, he was now airborne with very little ability to dodge.

"Fury Swipes!" Lisanna called, jumping up to the mage and rapidly clawing at him. He managed to block many of the strikes, but several landed, cutting his arms and torso slightly.

"Ice-make: Ice Hammer!" Gray announced. Not to be confused with his regular hammer, his ice hammer was much larger and spiked at the end. The large weapon was swung down at the fire mage's landing location, dealing a glancing blow as he had attempted to dodge.

"Attention. Attention," a female voice echoed out from some unknown location. "The Magical Convergence Cannon: Jupiter will be ready to fire in five minutes."

"Crap! We forgot about the cannon!" Gray swore. "Elfman, take out the lacrima. Lisanna and I will deal with Totomaru."

"MAN!" Elfman roared, charging the crystal.

"You think I'd just let you destroy that thing? How low do you think of me?" Totomaru asked, appearing slightly hurt. "It appears I will have to take you lot a bit more seriously than I anticipated. Rainbow Fire: Flaming Rain!" the flame mage called, releasing dozens of multicolored flaming bullets from the magic circle he summoned in front of him.

"Don't worry about it, Elfman! Ice-make: Shield!" Gray yelled, forming a thick shield of ice in front of him.

"MANLY STRIKE!" Elfman roared, confident that his teammate would block the attacks for him. He reared back his beast arm and punched the crystal as hard as he could, causing a noticeable crack in the side, however, the crystal was still very much intact.

"It takes a lot more than a punch to break that, but you won't get a chance to find out how many hits it takes! Rainbow Fire: HALO!" Totomaru yelled, giving himself a strange glowing halo above his head with three multicolored fireballs.

"THAT'S your attack? Giving yourself a stupid hat?" Gray questioned in shock.

"IT'S NOT A STUPID HAT!" Totomaru defended against the three confused looks he was getting. "These are flaming halos! They allow me to do THIS!" he shouted, pointing at the ice mage. One of the fireballs that were a part of his halo stopped rotating as it glowed brightly before disappearing. After it disappeared, a magic circle appeared above Gray and a ball of fire that was just over half the size of the lacrima crystal shot down at the ice mage.

"Ice-make: SHIELD!" Gray yelled, forming an equally massive shield of ice above him just before the fireball landed. It impacted his shield, cracking it and causing the floor to cave in, leaving Gray panting and standing in a pit when the meteor finally dispelled.

"See? It's not just a stupid hat," Totomaru confidently informed them, giving a smug grin.

Elfman looked at him for a moment before turning back to the crystal. "MANLY STRIKE!" he roared, once again punching the crystal as hard as he could. An even bigger crack appeared, and it looked as if even a sneeze would shatter it, but the lacrima didn't break.

"HEY! WHO TOLD YOU YOU COULD PUNCH THAT?" Totomaru yelled angrily.

"Dude…" Gray panted. "You were...monologuing…"

"Yeah, it gets kind of boring to listen to," Lisanna admitted.

"MONOLOGUING IS NOT MANLY!" Elfman yelled, preparing for a third hit.

"OH NO YOU DON'T!" the fire mage shouted back, pointing towards Elfman to summon another meteor. Elfman was forced to retreat from the lacrima quickly in order to not get barbecued by the spell, but Lisanna used the opportunity to strike.

"Fury Swipes!" she yelled, quickly dashing forward and attacking the mage. Most of the hits landed cleanly, shredding his clothes and covering him with cuts. "Cat Claw!"

The second attack was blocked by his sword and the two began trading blows. Elfman took the opportunity to rear back for another strike.

"Ten seconds until the Magical Convergence Cannon: Jupiter fires," the disembodied female voice announced.

"NOW ELFMAN!" Gray yelled, preparing an ice-make spell for the fire mage.

"Right! ULTIMATE FIST OF MAN!" Elfman roared, striking the crystal harder than he ever had before, shattering it into hundreds of shards.

"NO! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!" Totomaru yelled, distracting himself for a moment.

"Checkmate! Ice-make: Ice Geyser!" Gray shouted, slamming his hands on the ground. Lisanna quickly jumped out of the way to avoid the massively damaging spell, which sent a growing wave of ice spikes forward towards the fire mage.

"Son of a-" Totomaru started but was cut off. The ice attack collided with the fire mage and launched him into the air. He came crashing down shortly after, breathing heavily and severely wounded.

"Nice try, but you don't stand a chance against Fairy Tail when one of our own is threatened," Gray declared, walking over and kicking the downed mage in the temple to knock him unconscious.

"Alright!" Lisanna exclaimed, transforming back into her normal form.

"MANLY!" Elfman roared, doing the same.

Outside the fortress, the crowd of battling Fairy Tail mages were cheering loudly at the success of their fellow comrades. The Jupiter cannon was successfully destroyed, and, for the time being, they were relatively safe.

"So it appears you pieces of trash aren't quite as helpless as I expected," mused the Phantom Lord master. "Very well then. I was trying to do you a favor by granting you a swift death, but I suppose I shall have to take the difficult route."

"Come on," Gray said, walking back towards the barrel where they had entered from. "We'd better go get ready to help them. They still have two of the Element Four, Black Steel Gajeel, and Josè."

"Man!" Elfman roared, chasing after the ice mage.

"Deploy the drawbridge!" called the Phantom master. The guildhall which had previously been standing on large spider-like legs walked slightly closer to shore, before setting down into the water. A massive drawbridge extended from their gate, connecting the hall to the mainland. The shades that had previously been attacking the Fairy Tail mages retreated into the dark hall that was the opposing guildhall. Fortunately, however, the low-mid class Phantom Lord mages had been easily dealt with, seeing as the healthiest of them were sore, and the worst off of all of them could barely walk on his own. Needless to say, the Fairy Tail mages were furious at a guild master treating his members so cruelly.

The mages of Fairy Tail used this moment of respite to its maximum, taking deep breaths, grouping with their successful allies that had retreated from the Phantom guildhall, and dealing with any wounds that showed imminent danger. However, in the back of their minds was fear. 'This is it,' they thought. 'Our final stand.'

"So, the sheep have herded themselves to be slaughtered by my hand," Josè sneered, walking across the drawbridge followed by three figures. "It seems as if your time is truly up, does it not? Your master is on death's door, assuming he survived, your S-Class mages are wounded or absent, and the strongest here are all but exhausted."

"This is too easy. Can't the fairy scum have anyone worth fighting?" Gajeel groaned.

"Truly sorrowful! Those who live by the light of their namesake simply fall by the hand of the dark," wept Aria.

"Drip drip drop. Juvia apologizes, but she must follow orders from her master. Juvia hopes you understand," Juvia apologized.

"And so what?" Cana announced. "We'll keep fighting for our family until our dying breath! And after we're dead, we'll keep fighting!"

A cheer of approval rang out as the remaining mages got set for battle.

"Who said we're out of S-Class mages?" a voice announced proudly. "I don't recall you finishing me off earlier."

"Mirajane! You're supposed to be resting!" Lisanna yelled.

"And let my family fall? I don't think so!"

"I may be low on power and severely wounded, but I shall not sit idly by while our fellow mages fall," Erza announced, standing next to Mira.

"Yeah!"

"Fairy Tail fights together, and Fairy Tail falls together!"

"You tell 'em!"

"Let's do this!" shouted the injured mages behind Erza.

"If we fall today we will die fighting!" Erza roared.

"YEAH!" shouted all of the mages.

"ENOUGH!" shouted Josè. "If you wish to die so badly, then so be it! I'll grant you the death you wish!"

"That's quite enough, Josè," came another voice that appeared to come from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. "You've dealt your damage, and you've made the strength of your guild known. I shall give you the option to turn away now before I punish you for the deeds you have committed here today."

"Who is that?" yelled the Phantom Master. "Show yourself!"

"Now why would I do that?" the voice asked. "I much prefer staying in the shadows and watching those who oppose me tremble in fear."

"Who the hell is that?"

"It's on our side, right?" the Fairy Tail mages whispered in fear. A few select mages smirked, as they had a fairly good idea of a mage who was rather proficient in scare tactics.

"Looks like the cavalry's arrived," Erza said with a smug look.

"About time too. I was getting worried," Mira admitted.

"You guys know what that is?" Treya asked in fear.

"Don't worry about it. Everything's gonna be fine," Mira reassured.

"Trembling in fear? You have the wrong person!" Josè confidently declared.

"A phantom has come to haunt the phantoms? How sorrowful!" Aria wept.

"That's weird, I can't smell anything different," Gajeel noted suspiciously.

"Drip drip drop," Juvia commented, still rather uncaring about the situation.

"I'm afraid I've run out of time for your games, Fairy Tail. Meet your end! Dark Pulse!" he shouted, swiping his hand horizontally across his body. This caused a series of explosions to ring out in front of him, blowing up dangerously close to the front line of Fairies, knocking them back a bit.

"And I suppose you think that's an attack?" the voice mused. "Perhaps I shall show you the meaning of attack."

"Do your worst!" Josè snarled, preparing to launch another army of shades.

"And thus I shall," the voice answered. No further words were spoken, but a spell was cast. It started as a spark, a small yet noticeable flame halfway between the Phantom Lord, mages who were standing on the shoreline, and the Fairy Tail mages that were standing protectively in front of their guildhall. The spark grew into a small flickering flame, and then to the size of a campfire, and then to the size of a bonfire, and soon there was a roaring inferno of blistering heat.

The fire seemed alive, dancing as it steadily grew larger and larger, both sides feeling immense heat. Most of the Fairy Tail mages looked in fear, while the battle-hardened Phantom Lord mages looked at the sight with wary and anger.

The fire changed forms again, appearing as a massive bird, easily twenty feet in height. The bird was made up of orange and red flames, that swirled along its body and wings which stayed down by its sides. Above its head was a simple crown that glowed not in orange and red flames but in a brilliant, almost holy, white. It stared at the group of Phantoms, its gaze piercing their souls.

"Perhaps I was not clear in my earlier request," the voice spoke, not coming from the phoenix that was staring in front of them but seemingly coming from all directions around them. "Leave or you shall face wrath unlike you've ever seen before."

"You think this creature scares me?" Josè demanded. "Juvia! Put this house fire out."

"Yes, master," Juvia replied flatly. "Rain." With that simple declaration, the sky filled with dark clouds and rain began to fall on the battlefield.

The phoenix did not seem concerned about this and simply continued to stare at the group. "Very well. I have warned you," the voice spoke. The phoenix reared its head back and unleashed a massive cawing noise, before it disappeared, leaving a lone figure in its wake. The figure stood alone in a simple cloak covering his entire body, and he appeared taller than average, but not by too much. "Prepare yourself, Josè."

"Well, well, well," mused Josè. "If it isn't the infamous White Crown. I thought you were a bounty hunter, not some lowlife Fairy."

"I am rather impressed that you recognized me, Josè," the White Crown answered. "You are one of the first to properly identify me before falling by my hands. I'm even more impressed that you recognize that spell. Might I ask how you know of it? I've only used it three times over the course of my career. Care to enlighten me?"

"D-did he s-say...the White Crown?" Lucy stuttered out in fear.

"Who the hell is that?" Macao asked.

"He's one of the strongest and most well-known bounty hunters in Fiore," Levy breathed out, eyes huge. "An incredibly powerful fire mage. He could even be a match for Natsu."

"That strong?" Macao questioned, now equally as scared. "He's on our side, right?"

"Don't worry about anything," Mira reassured. "Just watch."

"It's rather simple really," Josè answered. "You murdered my brother!"

"Did I? Shame, really. I never mean to kill," the White Crown answered simply.

"You slaughtered his entire guild!" Josè sneered.

"Rather similar to what you're doing, isn't it?" he asked. "Might I ask what guild it was?"

"Nightwing. My brother was Barreth Porla. I've been waiting a long time for this day, White Crown! Today is the day that the Flare Blitz of Rösch falls by my hand!" snarled Josè.

"Barreth...was...your brother?" he asked clear suppressed rage in his voice. "That creature...that abomination...that foolish, Acnologia-worshipping MENACE WAS YOUR BROTHER?"

"AND WHAT OF IT?" Josè roared back. "His guild did a lot of work for Phantom Lord, yet you slaughtered them all!"

"Then I sentence you to the same fate that he incurred," he answered simply. "DEATH!" With that declaration, the battlefield filled with power. One was of an angered guild master and wizard saint, the other was of a widely feared bounty hunter.

"This one's mine," Josè informed his mages, receiving nods in response as they stepped back. "Shade Army!"

"Pitiful," the Crown responded, holding up a hand towards the impending horde of shades. "Fire Dragon's FLAME WAVE!"

The wave of flame overwhelmed the shade troops rather quickly, forcing Josè to dodge. "You insignificant brat!" Josè snarled. "Living Shade: Giant!" Rather than an army of small flying shade troops, this time the Phantom master summoned a singular mass of shade. It was humanoid in appearance, however, it lacked any sort of a face. Simply a twenty-foot tall mass of shade magic in the form of an extremely muscled humanoid.

"I expected a Wizard Saint to be worth my time," the Crown answered sadly. "White Fire Dragon King's ROAR!"

"That's Natsu's magic!" Gray exclaimed.

"Do you think they're related or something?" Macao asked.

'So that's it…' Levy thought, her eyes widened in realization.

The shades punched back against the roar, providing a short struggle before they were overwhelmed and burned down.

"If you're not going to try, kneel before me so I may kill you quicker," the Crown stated.

"Very well. You have earned a chance to see my true power!" Josè announced, closing his eyes briefly. He reopened them shortly after, releasing a shockwave of power that felt vile and sickening. It was like a cloud of negative emotions was released onto the field, causing some of the Fairy Tail mages to gag and one or two of the already injured ones began to get sick. His eyes were now revealed to be pitch black with tiny golden pupils.

"What is this magic?" Mira asked, covering her mouth trying not to gag. "It's so vile!"

"That's Josè," Erza replied stoically, glaring at the Wizard Saint.

"DEAD WAVE!" Josè called, firing a thick purple beam at his opposing mage.

"White Fire Dragon King's Destruction Fist!" yelled the Crown, striking forward with a powerful right. The two attacks battled briefly before exploding, neither having been successful. Being primarily a close-ranged fighter, the bounty hunter used the debris from the explosion to close the distance quickly. Igniting his fists in bright orange flames, he engaged in melee combat.

Josè was more adept in hand-to-hand combat than anyone knew, and matched the bounty hunter strike for strike. The two clashed for over a minute, neither able to land a strike on the other, before Josè finally managed to land a kick on the bounty hunter's chest, pushing him back several feet. "I'm impressed, White Crown, however, I was not given the title of Wizard Saint to be bested by a mere weakling! Shade Armor: Reaper Form!" the Phantom master called, cloaking himself in black and purple shade magic. It coated him in a similar attire to what the White Crown was wearing; a long, full-body billowing cloak. The form was a little known magic by the Wizard Saint, but an extremely powerful one. The shade magic increased his power tenfold and made him nearly too fast for the eye to see. "Come! Let's see how you survive this!"

The two charged each other clashing once again, however, with his new magic, Josè was clear to be on the winning end. After a brief conflict, the two met in the middle, each throwing a full-strength punch. The two struggled in power for a moment before Josè overpowered the bounty hunter, blasting him back in a show of power.

"DO YOU SEE NOW? YOU COULD NEVER HOPE TO DEFEAT ME!" Josè roared. "AND IN RETRIBUTION OF MY FALLEN BROTHER, I SHALL KILL YOU MYSELF! DEAD WAVE!"

"NO!" Mira yelled, trying to run forward.

"Stop, it Mira!" Lisanna shouted to her sister, grabbing one arm while her brother held the other. "Don't go in there! Save your energy!"

"We can't just let someone else die for us!" Lucy said. "We have to help him!"

"You will stand and continue to watch," Erza declared. Her voice was confident, but her mind was truly fearful. She knew he was fine in her heart of hearts, but that didn't stop the overwhelming sense of guilt and fear she felt at being too injured and too weak to help.

"But Erza-" Lucy tried to protest.

"No!" Erza shot back, a single tear dropping from her eye.

"Oh, how the strong have fallen!" Aria wept.

"Tch...and that guy was a dragon slayer? Pathetic," Gajeel scoffed.

"Juvia wants to know why Gajeel thinks this mage is a dragon slayer?" Juvia asked.

"I know a dragon's flames when I see them," Gajeel said back. His words were confident, however, his thoughts were completely different. 'Those flames were white...don't tell me this dude's a dragon king…'

"So, now that your savior has fallen," Josè snarled, glaring at Fairy Tail. "Who's next?"

"I'm afraid that wasn't nearly enough to finish me, Josè," the bounty hunter said, the smoke from the explosion clearing. The cloak that he was wearing was torn in multiple places, nearly enough to reveal his face, but little to no true injuries were showing. "Your level of power is impressive, however, it pales in comparison to my own."

"You impudent brat!" Josè shouted. "Why are you helping these Fairy scums anyway?!"

"And why do you feel the need to attack these 'Fairy scum'?" he answered, opening his cloak slightly, appearing to attempt to retrieve something.

"He's trying to capture me and Lucy," Mira responded for him.

"Oh, you should not have said that," Erza sighed.

"He deserves it," Mira shrugged.

"I'm not following," Cana deadpanned.

"Just watch…" Erza sighed again.

"What?" he growled, halting movement.

"And why should you care?" Josè demanded.

"I'm finished with this," he replied simply, throwing dozens of pennant-shaped flags into the air. "The secrecy. The lies. I have enough family now that knows of who I truly am, and I care not if others choose to fear my past."

"Are those…?" Cana asked, eyes widened in shock.

"Phantom Lord's subdivision's flags," Levy breathed out.

"But what is he talking about?" Lucy asked.

"I think Natsu's finally ready," Mira smiled.

"Eh?" the rest of them asked.

"YOU! HOW DID YOU GET THOSE?" Josè roared in anger.

"It's time I stop cowering in the shadows, Josè. The life I lived was ruined by your brother and his followers, so in retribution, I took their lives. Perhaps it was a foolish act, and I often wonder whether I would change my actions could I go back, however, those thoughts are in vain. The path I walk burns, leaving ashes in my wake, and I cannot reform what it is I have burned."

"WHAT ARE YOU BABBLING ABOUT? SHADE BLAST!" Josè yelled, firing a barrage of shade bullets at the slayer.

"Burn," he said simply, and each blast ignited in white flames before disappearing. "And thus we have come full circle. Here I am face to face with the last remnant of who I was, not who I will become. I'm done hiding in the shadows, done hiding in the lies, done fearing what I've been. I shall face you not as the White Crown nor the Flare Blitz of Rösch, but as myself." He ripped off his cloak, revealing his true identity. A wild mane of half-pink half-white hair, black scale earrings, a shimmering scaly white scarf, and a dragon talon necklace. "I am Natsu Drakeneel; the Dual Salamander of Fairy Tail!"

"THAT'S NATSU?"

"NO WAY!"

"HOW DID WE NOT REALIZE THAT? THEY USE THE SAME MAGIC?"

Questions rang out among the Fairy Tail mages, while Erza and Mira just smiled at him, proud that he was done hiding.

'Well done, Natsu…' Mira thought.

'You're finally ready…' Erza added.

"So, the White Crown is really the Dual Salamander of Fairy Tail, is he? All the more reason to slaughter you here and now!" Josè sneered.

"To the person hiding behind the rubble over there, please come out," Natsu called, before turning back to face Josè. "I require your services."

"Um...hello," the small person said shyly. She was a young girl, probably no older than 13 years old, with waist-length dark blue hair set in dual pigtails with red hair ornaments. She wore a green dress with a scale-like pattern and a gold armband on her right arm.

"You're sacrificing a girl? I'm not sure what your game is, but don't think I won't strike her down to get to you," Josè declared confidently.

"FIRE DRAGON KING'S ASCENSION!" roared Natsu. Very similar to his royal dragon force, the slayer sprouted massive wings on his back, horns from his head, and talons on his hands and feet. In addition to these appendage changes and his development of scales, Natsu sprouted a long, scaly tail complete with an arrowhead tip that looked sharp enough to pierce steel. It was a brilliant white in color with various red swirls adorning it.

"Si relgr acht wer relaaam; origato wer svanti kiwieg sia altiuiri, origato wer edar astrexi sia dastudr, origato wer guawysverni nymuer sia vebren, vur origato wer bekifi di uoinota ocuir sia ixen. Si relgr acht thee vur ascuudin ekess wer rex di wer daar," Natsu chanted, his voice deepening slowly as his power increased to incredible levels. The ground beneath his feet trembled and the magic was so thick it was near visible. "Darastrixi ghoros ve, nymuer sia relgr; jihai ve lae dout daar usv relekihl sia rex." (I call upon the realm; let the skies feel my wings, let the earth acknowledge my strength, let the heavens hear my roar, and let the depths of hell see my fire. I call upon thee and ascend to the throne of the king. Dragons before me, hear my call; accept me as your king or challenge my throne.)

Everyone began to back up or collapse; many of the lesser mages were near unconscious from the sheer magical pressure alone, while the greater mages looked on in fear. Even Josè took a step backward at the display.

"What is this?" the Phantom master shouted. "What are you doing? What is this power?"

"Si anyui dout relgr, o' janikup daar di ibafarshani; si, Wendy Marvell, hianag di wer jennu svant darastrix Grandine, jihai dout shiic di janik. Origato dout tuka qe versvesh vur fyrr," Wendy spoke, approaching the dragon slayer. With the conclusion of her speech, she kneeled before him, bowing as a show of respect. (I answer your call, o' mighty king of flames; I, Wendy Marvell, daughter of the great sky dragon Grandine, accept your show of might. Let your reign be strong and fair.)

"What are you doing, child? Get back here this instant! That man is dangerous!" scolded her companion, now revealed to be a small white cat, though this one, unlike Happy, wore a yellow shirt and a pink skirt.

"Origato sia apprecci qe shiinah, Wendy Marvell, hianag di Grandine. Si nishka woithe ekess qe fyrr persvek filki persvek sia kult," Natsu answered before turning to the Phantom Lord mages. "Gajeel Redfox, deevdru di wer janikup usk darastrix Metallicana; tir wux huven ekess suub ekess sia kult usv nishka wux relekihl sia rex?"

(Let my appreciation be shown, Wendy Marvell, daughter of Grandine. I shall strive to be fair and just in my rule. Gajeel Redfox, son of the mighty iron dragon Metallicana; do you wish to submit to my rule or shall you challenge my throne?)

Gajeel looked back at Natsu, clear fear written on his face before looking back at Josè, who had noticed the two's stares, and turned back to his ace. After looking at the two for a brief moment, the slayer clenched his fist and approached. "What are you doing, Gajeel?" snarled Josè.

"Living," he replied simply, before kneeling next to Wendy. "Si anyui dout relgr, o' janikup daar di ibafarshani; si, Gajeel Redfox, deevdru di wer janikup usk darastrix Metallicana, jihai dout shiic di janik. Origato dout tuka qe versvesh vur fyrr." (I answer your call, o' mighty king of flames; I, Gajeel Redfox, son of the mighty iron dragon Metallicana, accept your show of might. Let your reign be strong and fair.)

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU FOOL?" roared Josè. "YOU DARE BETRAY PHANTOM LORD?"

"Quiet, old man!" Gajeel grunted back. "I don't have a choice here."

"Origato sia aprecci qe shiinah, Gajeel Redfox, deevdru di Metallicana. Si nishka woithe ekess qe fyrr persvek filki persvek sia kult," Natsu replied, before looking back towards Josè. "You stand before the Fire Dragon King, Natsu Drakeneel. I am the son of Igneel, the Fire Dragon King before I, and the proud fire dragon Draco. I find you guilty of treason, murder, and the orchestration of a conflict against royalty, among various other crimes committed during the war you started. The combined sentences of these crimes is death. May Bahamut have mercy on your forgotten soul."

"You? You think you can kill me?" cackled Josè. "Very well, Salamander! I don't know how you convinced Gajeel to betray me, but don't think I'll bow before your little puppet show!"

"Does anyone know what's going on?" Cana asked as the guild's members watched on. Fortunately, due to Natsu's incredible magical control, none of them fell unconscious from the display, however, more than a few collapsed.

"I'm not entirely sure," Mira answered.

"How did he get Gajeel to bow to him like that? And who's that other girl?" Lucy asked.

"I'm sure he will explain everything after, shut up and keep watching," Erza ordered.

"Yes, ma'am!" they replied quickly.

"Your overconfidence will be your downfall! Living Shade-" he started, before getting interrupted.

"Fire Dragon King's Punishing Arts: Peklenc's Eternal Damnation," Natsu announced, forming a passive pentagon of flames into the air. "Goodbye, Josè."


End file.
